Golden Scars

Hi, and welcome to another daily encouragement from the Our Daily Bread Devotional. Today's reading titled Golden Scars was written by Amy Peterson. In the Netherlands, a group of fashion designers offer a golden joinery workshop. Inspired by the Japanese technique kintsugi, where broken porcelain is visibly repaired with gold, participants collaborate in mending clothes in ways that highlight the mending work rather than trying to mask it. Those who are invited bring a dear but broken garment and mend it with gold. As they remake their clothes, the repair becomes ornamental—a golden scar.

Articles of clothing are transformed in ways that highlight the places where they were torn or frayed. Perhaps this is something like what Paul meant in 2 Corinthians 12 when he said he would boast in the things that showed his weakness. Although he'd experienced surpassingly great revelations, he doesn't brag about them. He is kept from getting proud and overconfident, he says, by a thorn in his flesh.

No one knows exactly what he was referring to. Perhaps depression, a form of malaria, persecution from enemies, or something else. Whatever it was, he begged God to take it away. But God said in verse 9, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Just as the rips and tears in old clothes can become sights of beauty as they're remade by designers, the broken and weak places in our lives can become places where God's power and glory may shine. He holds us together, transforms us, and makes our weaknesses beautiful.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 1 through 10. I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body, I do not know.

God knows. And I know that this man, whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know, but God knows, was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me, but he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses and insults and hardships and persecutions and difficulties.

For when I am weak, then I am strong. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you that we can come to you in our brokenness and for accepting us and loving us just the way we are. May all of our scars live as evidence of your goodness and healing in our lives. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.