The Best Dishes

Have I showed you all our china patterns yet?? No? Well now, I simply must! :)

Grant and I picked a very simple, yet elegant pattern from Noritake called "Stoneleigh."

Flatware? As a gift from my grandmother, we have "Tabora" from Reed and Barton.

Crystal glassware? "Paris" from Noritake.

Now, there you have it! :)

My faithful few readers must be thinking, "Okay, HOW is she going to liken this to something spiritual? I mean, it's dishes!" I appreciate your confidence! :) Actually, I was suprised when it hit me just yesterday afternoon while finalizing a few china issues. What is china for?? I mean, all you need is everyday dishes to get you through. When do you ever even use your wedding china??

Well, in my family, we get out the china dishes when there is a special occation. Thanksgiving, a birthday, Christmas, graduation, etc. We take them out and place them neatly on the table when there is some sort of celebration. It's the very best. Sometimes we do the same thing for company. We don't want our company to eat off of the broken and chipped dishes, we want them to have the best!

Now do you know where I'm going with this??

It may not be much, but while I was thinking about china and how beautiful it is, I had to think of how Heaven gave us its very best when Jesus, God in human flesh, came down to earth. With all my sin and all my shame, our Heavenly Father looked down and decided to send the best Heaven had to offer to redeem me from sin. He did the same for you too! And when He saved me, He didn't just forgive me of all I had ever done up to that point.... He kept on forgiving! He washes me clean every day. He loves me unconditionally. He doesn't have a limitted amount of love or pardon or grace.... He doesn't give me the "chipped and broken dishes" - He breaks out the china! He doesn't set His table with paper plates and throwaway cups. He sets His table with overwhelming mercy, unfathomable joy, unspeakable peace, indiscribable love - THE VERY BEST! He gives the best gifts. He gives a human race that scorns Him, ignores Him, and spits in His face His very life. And He gives His children, who stumble and who question Him, the best of all that He is!

....I will never be able to look at wedding china without thinking of God's "best dishes" too.

Luke 15:22
"But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:"

1 John 3:1
"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:"