Grandma's China

Grandma’s China

When a loved one dies they often leave a lot of earthly stuff behind. Sometimes this stuff gets divided up among family, sometimes it is auctioned off, sometimes it is given to close friends. Imagine, if you will, that your nearest and dearest grandmother has just passed away. This grandmother was someone you spent a lot of time with. Her house was your favorite place to be and she always made you feel special. Suddenly you find yourself surrounded by family just praying that you get to keep some of the items that mean so much to you. At the end of the day, you are holding a box of your grandma’s china. These plates are the ones she has used for special occasions for the past 40 years and every special occasion at her house has been graced with these very plates you hold in your hands. These plates have never held as much value to you as they do now. 

Something about death makes everything more precious. The death of your grandmother has suddenly made everything she has ever owned the keeper of a precious memory. Everywhere you look there is a memory waiting to play out in your mind. As you look at these plates you see nothing but beauty, perfection, and precious fine china that has been blessed by the touch of your grandma. Your average onlooker would look at this very same china would see that there are chips in the edges of many of the plates, much of the paint has worn off, some of the tea cups have cracks, and the gold lining has turned brassy. Your eyes see none of that.

Have you ever stopped to think that God views us just like you view these plates? He sees only the beauty- not the blemishes or the wear and tear from the world. He sees us as the beautiful creation He meant for us to be. You may say, “But we are a mess!” Yes, we are a mess, but God sent Jesus and just like your grandma’s death made everything precious to you, Jesus’ death made all of us precious to God because we belong to Him. Everything that belongs to the Lord became precious when Jesus died on the cross for us. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you were born, who your parents were, what religion you grew up with: Muslim, Jewish, atheist, Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Buddhist, Christian, it doesn’t matter. Every human born on this earth is Christ’s child. He is waiting for each and every one of us to come to Him. He is waiting for us to make the decision.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20