Originating in 15th-century Japan, Kintsugi is the art of repairing broken pottery with gold or silver lacquer. Each piece is uniquely crafted and repaired, resulting in a gorgeous piece of art unlike any other. The real beauty, however, lies in the way the art form approaches brokenness. Instead of seeing breakage as something to be hidden, Kintsugi treats it as an integral part of an object’s history rather than something to be disguised. In fact, there is no attempt to hide the damage. The repair itself is glorified.

Are you willing to glorify your own brokenness? The thought might make you uncomfortable. You are told constantly by society that vulnerability and weakness are things to be ashamed of, that they need to be suppressed and hidden, not encouraged and exposed. It would be much easier to accept your flaws if you treated them the same way you treat your achievements. But did you know the Bible encourages you to be proud of your brokenness? It seems counterintuitive, but in order for God’s beautiful work of grace to work in you, you must first accept how broken you truly are.

That’s what happened with the apostle Paul. God made it clear from the beginning of Paul’s ministry that he was a broken man. Christians feared him because he persecuted the early Christian church. After his conversion, he was himself persecuted—driven out of several towns and at one point even stoned within inches of his life. He was also arrested several times for preaching the good news of Jesus, ultimately leading to his death in Rome. Yet even through these moments, Paul had unyielding joy as he proclaimed one of the sweetest gospel messages for broken sinners like you and me: “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). For Paul, his brokenness was not something he would despair in. His brokenness became the platform for Christ’s power and the gospel to shine brightest. The repair Christ did to Paul was glorified and helped him proclaim the gospel to even more people.

Just like clay jars, we become so easily broken. Societal and familial expectations wear us thin. Addictions break us from the inside out. Our health deteriorates and makes us fragile. As more and more breakage appears, we often seek cosmetic remedies to convince ourselves and others we are in pristine condition. Positive thinking and self-help guides can hide the cracks for a while, but the brokenness is still there, gnawing away at our souls until we eventually crumble for good.

Friends, your brokenness is nothing to be ashamed of. It is within our broken souls where Christ hides his greatest treasure. Hidden within broken believers like you and me is our Lord’s power to overcome the assaults of Satan and every evil this world throws at us. That is the power our God uses to craft us into more mature, more beautiful gospel witnesses. The Holy Spirit who dwells within us not only sustains us through life, but through him our brokenness becomes the bold proclamation that Christ has restored us as glorious children of God. This is our true perseverance in life.

As this treasure lives in us, we are able to live with bold courage and say along with Paul: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10). We are able to be content when our weaknesses are exposed, when others insult us because of Jesus, when we endure hardships and persecutions, and even when calamities strike. Because when we are weak, it is only then that we are truly strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).