DEVOTION / Fine China in a Paper Plate World

A devotion I read the other day caught my attention — it was an illustration that stuck in my mind.

The speaker asked when was the last time you washed and dried your paper plates so you could reuse them?  Used paper plates are destined for the trash bin.  They are pretty worthless.

Compare that to when you bring out your best dishes: the fine china.  Those dishes are treated in a special way.  You are careful with them even after you are done eating on them.  They get washed and dried carefully.  Then stacked carefully.  If you're the one that chips or drops one, watch out!

That's a fitting comparison to our Christian lives.  Human life these days is treated as pretty worthless.  We are told that we are mere products of chance. Our lives are meaningless.  We are just one among billions on a planet spinning out of control.

How dramatically different is what our loving Lord tells us! Check out these passages:

• Ephesians 2:10, We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (NIV).

• 1 Corinthians 6:20a, You were bought at a price (NIV).

• Exodus 19:5, ... You will be my treasured possession (NIV).

 We are special.  God says we're his handiwork: his treasure.  He paid a high price for us.  The blood of Jesus Christ, his one and only Son.  Jesus paid the death penalty to save us from our sins.

 The world's lies may tell you that you're only a worthless paper plate.  Don't believe it!

God says you are "fine china."  He knows your worth. He created you.  He assigned you the high status of his child. He reserved special purposes for you. You were created in Christ Jesus to do good works. He loved you so deeply that he knew you before time and prepared his plans for your life.

Prayer:  Lord, how often we hear that our lives are worthless. Don't let us fall for that lie. Fill us with your Spirit and remind us we are your treasured possession bought at the high price of Jesus' death. Lead us in love to do the good works you have prepared for us and to share your good news with the world.

For your continuing prayers: Our ministry at 316NOW seeks to share the good news of God's handiwork with the billion-plus Chinese souls around the world.  They need to hear that their lives are treasured by the Lord. No soul is a worthless throw-away. Let us lift this great need to our Creator, and through his Holy Spirit, live the treasured lives he has prepared for us.