阅读经文 

有一种日本陶瓷修复的技术叫做金继（或作金缮）。当一件瓷器破裂了，技师会用金属来修补裂缝。技师的目的并不是要将瓷器彻底恢复原状，而是吸引人去注意修补后的裂缝的美感。在那破裂的地方会产生新的力量和美。

在RCM我留意到神赐予的一个很大的恩典，就是在我们软弱的地方找到力量和美感。大家都不需要伪装，我们的口号是“带着你的本相来”——而大家来的时候都是破碎的。这不是说我们应当永远沉溺在我们破碎的地方，而是我们不需隐藏我们的伤囗和受过的伤害。能够这样开放会带来很大的自由，这是神给每一个愿意接受恩惠之人的礼物。

在经历破碎、易受伤害、暴露缺点的地方，只要有基督的同在，便能带来医治、有祂住在我们心中，也接受从祂而来的新生命。我们是否可以怀着这样的态度来看待圣经、祈祷、团契和关系——接受基督和基督徒群体，将我们的破碎转化为一个有力量和有美感的礼物，奉送给我们所在的社区呢？

There is a form of Japanese pottery repair called kintsugi. When a pot is broken, the artist will repair the broken piece with gold to seal the break. The goal of the artist is not to restore it to its original condition but to draw attention and create beauty where the pottery is broken. There is new strength and beauty at the place of the breaks.

One of the great gifts I have appreciated from the Roseland Christian Ministries community is that beauty and strength are found in the places where we are weak. There's no faking it. Our motto is "Come as You Are"—and people come broken.

This doesn't mean we wallow in the broken places. But it does mean that we can live with an openness about our wounds and hurts. There is tremendous freedom in this. This is a gift that God offers to anyone willing to accept it.

The places of brokenness, vulnerability, and shortcomings are the places where the presence of Christ heals, dwells, and brings about new life. Can we come to Scripture, prayer, fellowship, worship, and relationships with a willingness for Christ and Christian community to take those broken pieces and make our lives a strong, beautiful gift to the communities we are a part of?