Welcome to today's encouragement from the Our Daily Bread Devotional.

I'm Wyn Collier, and I wrote today's reading, Beautiful Restoration.

In his wonderful book, Art and Faith, A Theology of Making, renowned artist Makoto Fujimura described the ancient

Japanese art form of Kinsugi.

In it, the artist takes broken pottery, originally teeware, and pieces the shards back together

with lacquer, threading gold into the cracks.

Kinsugi, Fujimura explains,

does not just fix or repair a broken vessel.

Rather, the technique makes the broken pottery

even more beautiful than the original.

Kensugi, first implemented centuries ago

when a warlord's favorite cup was destroyed and then beautifully

restored became art that's highly prized and desired isaiah describes god artfully enacting this

kind of restoration with the world though we're broken by our rebellion and shattered by our selfishness, God promises to create new heavens and a new earth.

He plans not merely to repair the old world, but to make it entirely new, to take our ruin and fashion a world shimmering with fresh beauty.

This new creation will be so stunning that past troubles will be forgotten, and former

things will not be remembered.

With this new creation, God won't scramble to cover our mistakes, but rather will unleash

his creative energy.

Energy where ugly things become beautiful and dead things.

Breathe anew.

As we survey our shattered lives, there's no need for despair.

...