This is going to be an exciting year for our family as one of my neices is going to be married at the end of the year! She’s the first of the “next generation” in our family to get married. We are all very excited for her and the wonderful young man she is engaged to. My niece and I chat frequently and text often so I get to stay in the loop with her wedding plans – her “winter wonderland” theme, her venue, her dress – all such fun! She and I like to giggle over the many “wedding reality shows” on TV these days, and we pledge to each other not to go overboard like so many depict! It is a time of joy and celebration. I am sure many of you can relate to this from your own children, or perhaps as you remember your own wedding years ago.
Weddings are important to our Heavenly Father. God uses the term “bride” when He refers to us, His church> And we know from scripture that one day the “bridegroom”, Jesus, will return to earth to take His “bride”, us believers, to the “marriage supper” in Heaven. Scripture is filled with these analogies. So it should come as no surprise that Jesus’ first miracle was performed at a wedding. Jesus’ mother Mary, Jesus, and some of His friends, were invited to a wedding. Jesus was about 30 years old. His ministry on earth was about to begin. The family of the wedding party was not a well-to-do family, and with their limited budget, they soon ran out of refreshments for the guests. So to save the family embarrassment, Mary asked Jesus to help in a way that only she knew He could. (Remember, for the previous 30 years, many around Mary still did not believe the ‘virgin birth’ explanation Mary and Joseph had told of Jesus’ birth. Mary knew Who Jesus really was. She knew what she was asking Him to do.)
John 2:1-11 tells of what Jesus did to provide “immeasurably more” than anyone there could have asked or imagined. Jesus took something very common – plain old water in plain old pots – and poured out a miracle! What was once common, used, plain, became the very vessel for Jesus’ miracle. I love that Bible Commentator J. Vernon McGee notes in his commentary on John, notes that the miracle occurred in the process of serving. The “change” from plain water into expensive wine happened when it was served, poured out.
That’s just what God does in our lives today – He tells us to fill ourselves up with water, which is the Word of God – and then to go pour ourselves out on others in service. And when we do, God takes our little and turns it into immeasurably more! Praise God He uses our old, common, plain, used selves and allows us to fill up on His Word, and then provides us with opportunities to pour out on others as we serve in our homes, our jobs, our Direct Sales businesses. So today, fill up on His Word and then watch for opportunities to serve – God will do a miracle in the pouring!
