I love stories. I love that stories, while in their own right, have significant and impact, I especially love stories that have significance beyond just the plot.
I think that's exactly what the stories of the Bible are meant for: it's more than just an isolated event thousands of years ago, it's meant to show us how God works and how he interacts with us.
I spent some time reading through the New Testament book of John a few months ago. I love this book because it's purpose is to show just how much Jesus IS God. His first miracle in the book takes place at a wedding, and it's turning water into wine. While that sounds cool in itself, I love what this story reveals about how God works.
The mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."
This woman KNOWS. She raised this baby up to be a man. She's seen his wisdom, his work, his holiness. She offers him the problem and KNOWS that he will have a solution. I love that! She doesn't tell God what to do, she just offers up the concern and then has faith to watch Jesus work it out in the best way.
Now there were six stone water pots set there for the Jewish custom of purification...
Someone put those pots there. Someone, before this miracle was recorded, maybe even before the wedding started, placed those empty stone jars for a purpose, but maybe NOT the purpose God was going to use them for. These water vessels could be seen as an opportunity, not one that people expected, but one that God would use anyway.
...containing twenty or thirty gallons each.
This is important later. Think: heavy lifting.
Jesus said to them, "fill the water pots with water."
Sometimes, God does huge transformations, performs massive miracles, parts the sea, floods the earth, etc. It's awesome. But how often does that happen in our own lives? Not a lot. I think God's commands are usually simple instructions. Guidance for daily steps forward. Wisdom in the form of forward momentum. God's like, "Do this next right thing, and trust me." We miss a lot of opportunities if all we are looking for is the parting of the skies and crazy visions. God's work in our lives is often quiet, and gentle instructions.
So they filled them up to the brim.
Remember how big those pots are? 20-30 gallons. And they are probably having to draw the water from a well, or maybe worse, have to walk to a river. So a gallon of water is 8.34 pounds (I googled it), times 25 is 208.5 pounds. ADD TO THAT the weight of a LARGE clay pot. See what I mean? Heavy lifting. God sometimes asks us to do some heavy lifting, some hard stuff. It may be simple, but rarely is it easy. It requires some muscle, maybe physically (as is the case here), but often it requires our discipline, perseverance, and grit. But wait! There's more! They filled them to the brim. I've hauled water enough having horses to know that if you fill that bucket to the brim, you'll drench your ankles by the time you get back to the barn! But these servants filled them up, maybe even grumbled along the way (the story doesn't say), and probably were incredibly careful not to spill ANY of it. I'd be saying, "I better not have to go back for more, this is tough!" But these people were intentional about bringing God the whole thing, a job well done, all the effort and care they could. I think sometimes we just cast prayers up to God, we just mention him in conversation, we show up at church once in a while, but perhaps the principle here is that we need to bring to God obedience wrapped in intentionally and devotion. (Sorry, that was a lot! I just love that part!)
And He said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him. When the head waiter tasted the water which has become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew)..."you have kept the gone wine until now."
I'm sure the servants, carefully set the jars down, looked at Jesus, looked back at the water, looked at Jesus, and shrugged. (At least that's what I see in my mind.) No miracle yet. And all that work! Jesus is like, "excellent work ladies and gentlemen, now that you've done all that hard one, ONE MORE THING..." But sometimes we have to work for our miracle. So they scoop some out and carry to the head waiter (glance back and forth at each other skeptically). But that miracle happened IN THEIR HANDS and ON THE WAY. Coudn't Jesus have just poofed the water into the jars in the first place? Or have just magically created wine from nothing? Yep. But these servants got to be not only the witnesses, but active participants in God's miracle. I truly think that the miracle was not for the bride and groom of the wedding, but for the servants and Jesus' disciples who were watching.
God's working miracles; he sets opportunities in front of us DAILY. We choose to notice them and then participate...or not. Our hearts have to be sensitive to the moments and obedient to his call. What do you see from this parable? Leave a comment about how this resonates with you!
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