China Patterns or Paper Plates

China patterns and paper plates—there’s a big difference between the two! Delicate china is completely different from the everyday plates you normally use. Fine china is for a specific purpose, saved for extra-special occasions. It is handled with great care, stored carefully, and even used for display. I don’t know about you, but my family never put up our extra-sturdy paper goods for viewing pleasure!

Dear Sister, you are not a paper plate. You were not created to be passed around, used, then thrown away. God has created you for a special purpose. You hold a beauty that can shine from the inside out and only can improve with time. You are valued and honored, chosen by God to be His child. You are a daughter of the King—a genuine, handcrafted china pattern!

A woman in the Bible was one such woman. Nowhere was her uniqueness of value more displayed than in the playing out of her very own love story. In Genesis 24, the story unfolds of how these two came together. When the time came for Abraham to find a wife for his son, Isaac, he sent a trusted servant to find a woman who was of the same background and belief. That servant prayed for very specific confirmation as to the woman Isaac would marry, and he trusted in the Lord to bring it about.

When this china pattern of a woman came onto the scene, the servant noticed several things that can be helpful to us today.

A treasured woman is faithful to do what she is given to do!

When the servant spotted Rebekah, she was going about her everyday business of filling her water jars (Gen. 24:15). This was not unusual for young women of that day. In fact, it was expected that they were to help their families. You don’t see her sitting around just waiting for Prince Charming to come knocking on her door!

And neither should we. You and I have things that we are called to do today. Are you being faithful to work hard at college, be a good employee, and prepare for possible marriage by performing more household chores? Stay at it!

A treasured woman possesses a beauty that causes others to notice.

The servant noticed that Rebekah was “very beautiful” (Gen. 24:16a). She wasn’t just a nice-looking girl; she was very beautiful. First Peter 3:3-4 says it well: “Your beauty should not consist of outward things … instead, it should consist of the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very valuable in God’s eyes.” The focus of our beauty isn’t merely external. According to Scripture, we should develop inner beauty. The beauty that comes from a heart totally committed to Jesus serves only to enhance the outward beauty that God has already given you!

A treasured woman pursues purity.

It is noted in Genesis 24:16 that Rebekah “had not known a man intimately.” When we begin to see ourselves as china patterns rather than plain, old paper plates, we will realize that God has specially created us. We were made to know intimacy-physically, relation-ally, emotionally, and spiritually. My youth pastor says that true intimacy is having a relationship with no fear of rejection. Engaging in sexual activity (and I don’t just mean sexual intercourse) opens up the door for rejection at the deepest level. Purity is an act of obedience and acts as a means of protection.

A treasured woman is others-focused and quick to serve.

Rebekah noticed that the man at the well that day needed water. When the servant asked her for a drink, Scripture says she “quickly lowered her jug to her hand and gave him a drink” (v. 18b). We are called to follow the example of Jesus Christ in looking to the needs of others. “Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:5-7).

A treasured woman goes the extra mile in serving with excellence!

“When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, ‘I’ll also draw water for your camels until they have had enough to drink.’ She quickly emptied her jug … and hurried to the well again to draw water. She drew water for all his camels” (Gen. 24:19-20). When you’re asked to do something, are you one to do just enough to get by? Or do you strive to take the extra step in loving, serving, giving, and living?

You might look at this list and already assume defeat. Stop it right now! God wants to develop His character in you, and that is only done by His Spirit and through His Word.

There’s a difference between china patterns and paper plates. God is in the business of molding and shaping you into a lovely piece of art. Allow Him to paint the picture of His glory on the canvas of your life. Be loved, treasured, protected, and cared for. God is setting you apart for a particular purpose. Let’s take our cues from Rebekah, a woman who knew how to live it right, and walk in that same value.