Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.” (Joel 2:13)
Sometimes what’s broken can become more beautiful and stronger than before. In the Japanese art form kintsugi broken pieces of pottery are taken by an artist and repaired by mending the imperfections with a lacquer infused with powdered gold. Instead of flaws to be hidden, the imperfections become part of the beauty and strength of the vessel worth highlighting.
Sometimes what’s broken can become more beautiful and stronger than before. The prophet Joel calls out to a people sinking in the waves of sin and idolatry. He calls them to turn around from their wrong ways and seek after God. Drawing on the action common with repentance, an outward tearing of garments, the prophet tells the people to tear their hearts, to break them up, before God.
Right alongside his invitation to break one’s heart with repentance—turning to God—Joel reminds everyone that God is ready to meet us with His patience, forgiveness, and unyielding love. He takes the broken places of our lives and restores them, infusing these imperfections with His inestimably valuable grace, truth, holiness, and love.
Lent begins with brokenness. It begins with realizing the ways we have strayed from God. We turn back, tearing our hearts open with confession, bringing to Him the places where we are broken, and presenting to Him our lives. Twentieth-century novelist Ernest Hemingway once wrote, “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” With Lent, we do not place ourselves at the mercy of an anonymous world, but in the hands of a loving God who graciously remakes us through Christ. Sometimes what’s broken can become more beautiful and stronger than before.
For reflection:
- When have you experienced something being broken and repaired that was more beautiful or stronger than it was before?
- As you begin the journey of Lent, what area of your life do you want to give to the Lord for Him to heal, redeem, or restore?
by Matt Erickson
Ash Wednesday Family Talk
Have you ever sat around a bonfire until all the wood is burned and the fire has gone out? What is left? Ashes! Gray, burnt-toast smelling, messy ashes!
In Bible times, people would take cooled-off ashes and spread them on their skin when they were very sad. Yuck! Just like ashes, sin can be ugly and messy. Wearing ashes was like a sign to everyone else that you were going through a time of confessing your sin and praying for forgiveness and a new start with God.
So, hundreds of years ago, when people wanted to mark the beginning of Lent—this special season leading up to Easter—they used ashes. Jesus came to die on the Cross to take on the punishment for everyone’s sins, for all time. During Lent we focus our thoughts on Jesus’ death—the high price He paid for our sins. Through the season of Lent, we confess our sin. We can also give up food or other things we like, so that we can give more attention to our lives with Jesus.
Sometimes it’s hard to think of all the things that we do that separate us from God (sin). Here is one way to help you practice a time of confession, by yourself or with your family. Read each question below. If you answer “yes” to them, repeat the prayer, “Lord, I am sorry” and draw a cross on a piece of paper. Maybe you can even use some ashes or soil mixed with a little water? It will make your hands messy—but that’s a good reminder of sin!
When you have finished, crumple the paper and throw it out to remind yourself that when God forgives us, He removes our sin (Psalm 103:12).
Have I treated others as I would like to be treated?
Lord, I am sorry.
Have I become angry when I don’t get my way?
Lord, I am sorry.
Have I used my words to hurt others instead of to help them?
Lord, I am sorry.
Have I disobeyed my parents, teachers, or other grown-ups who care for me? Lord, I am sorry.
Have I complained instead of been thankful for God’s good gifts?
Lord, I am sorry.
(Add in your own words of confession.)
Lord, I am sorry.
God, thank you for forgiving us when we confess our sin to you and for giving us a new start! Thank you that Jesus paid for my sins so I could live forever with you in your kingdom. Amen.
by Laure Herlinger
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