our daily bread
Dexu Xia
Nozomi Hope
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
In 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake and a resulting tsunami took nearly 19,000 lives and destroyed 230,000 homes in the region northeast of Tokyo. In its aftermath, The Nozomi Project, named for the Japanese word for “hope,” was born to provide sustainable income, community, dignity, and hope in a God who provides.
Nozomi women sift through the rubble of homes and furnishings to discover broken china shards that they sand and insert into fittings to form jewelry. The jewelry is sold around the world, providing a livelihood for the women while sharing symbols of their faith in Christ.
In New Testament times, it was customary to hide valuables in the unlikely vessels of simple clay pots. Paul describes how the treasure of the gospel is contained in the human frailty of followers of Christ: jars of clay (2 Cor. 4:7). He suggests that the meager—and even at times broken—vessels of our lives actually can reveal God’s power in contrast to our imperfections.
When God inhabits the imperfect and broken pieces in our lives, the healing hope of His power is often more visible to others. Yes, His repair work in our hearts often leaves the scars of cracks. But perhaps those lines from our learning are the etchings in our beings that make His character more visible to others.
Dear God, please show others Your power as I share the treasure of Your gospel in my broken, but beautiful life.
Welcome to Elisa Morgan! Meet all our authors at odb.org/all-authors.
Brokenness can lead to wholeness.
希望计划
我们有这宝贝放在瓦器里，要显明这莫大的能力是出于上帝，不是出于我们。-哥林多后书4章7节
在2011年，日本东北发生9级强震并引发大海啸，造成近1万9千人丧生，23万户民宅遭损毁。一个名为希望计划（Nozomi Project）的社会企业于灾后诞生，为灾民提供基本收入、社区关怀、并重建他们的自尊与信心，更帮助他们认识那位供应一切的上帝。
参与这项计划的妇女在残破的房屋与家具中，寻找并筛选瓷器的碎片，加以磨光之后再制成珠宝饰品。这些饰品被销售到世界各地，为这些妇女提供了生计，也显明她们对基督的信心。
在新约时代，人们习惯将贵重的物品，藏在简陋的瓦罐里。保罗描述软弱的基督徒就像瓦器一般，盛装着珍贵的福音（哥林多后书4章7节） 。他也指出我们的生命虽如同瓦器一样薄弱，有时甚至破碎不堪，其实更能够彰显上帝的大能。
当上帝修复我们生命中的不完美和破碎之处时，人们能因此看见上帝医治的大能，得着盼望。当然上帝在我们心中的修复工作，会留下修补的痕迹。然而，在学习历程中，这些留在我们生命里的痕迹，会让人们看到上帝的全能。
亲爱的上帝，当我用破碎却美好的生命
与人分享宝贵的福音时，求祢让人们看见祢的大能。