Teacups

The kids at church just got back from a youth retreat called Winter Vision, and one thing they got out of the retreat was the concept of how each of us is a teacup.

The red plastic cups used for parties is disposable. Coffee mugs are a little better than those plastic cups, but they seem to breed in my cabinet like rabbits, and also they’re “common,” they’re not anything special.

Teacups, on the other hand, like the fancy ones in your mom’s china cabinet which you’re not supposed to touch, are precious and protected.

We are each teacups—precious and protected by God. I thought it was a great way to think of ourselves.

But I want to go one step further. Yes, teacups are precious and protected, but they also should be used. If they’re just on display, they’re of no use to anyone. Instead, people are using their common coffee mugs rather than the beautiful teacups. And yes, I do think it tastes better if it’s drunk from a fancy teacup.

For my birthday, my mom had shipped to me this vintage Kutani tea set that belonged to my grandmother. It’s hand-painted and the pot is the best I’ve ever used because it doesn’t drip at all. I was saving it, but then I thought, am I going to go my entire life without using this? What’s the point of having it (and the cost for mom to ship it to me) if I don’t use I? So I started using it. My English Breakfast tea tastes ten times better because I’m drinking it from my Kutani tea set. :)

So YOU are a teacup. You are precious and protected, but you are also made to be used by God. How can God use you today?