For “Go” players, their favorite board to use is made of a nutmeg tree. In addition to its good color and fragrance, its resilience allows the trace of the stones to disappears after a certain period of time.
Among the boards made of a nutmeg tree, the board with thin marks on the surface is considered to be the best, though the production of it occurs unintentionally. If the wood cracks in the process of making a Go board, it is not thrown away but wrapped in cloth and kept in a separate place. After a couple of years, the wood is restored to its original state with the cracks filled up as it repeatedly contracts and expands. This Go board is considered to be of superior quality. As the cracked nutmeg wood proves its worth by regaining its original state due to its unique elasticity, it is considered the best despite marks on its surface. Its effort to regenerate itself makes it highly appreciated by players.
The Go board, which has become a masterpiece through the traces of suffering, resembles our spiritual state. As Apostle Paul said, “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17), God’s people who devote themselves to the Gospel have the marks; the mark of efforts to love brothers and sisters, to overcome temptations of the world, to keep faith, and so on. Seeing the marks of all their efforts to return to their original heavenly state, God too will value them highly.
“I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” Galatians 6:17