"Jesus said to the servants, 'fill the jars with water;' so they filled them to the brim. then he t old them, 'now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.' they did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine."
john 2:7-9
this story is familiar to most of us, i imagine. it is the beginning of Jesus' signs - the first of the miracles. Jesus and his mother, mary, are at a wedding in which the host runs out of wine (which would be an embarrassment in a culture that values hospitality and providing for guests). it is mary who goes to Jesus. but he responds to her by saying it has nothing to do with them, that his hour has not yet come. but mary tells the servants there to do whatever Jesus tells them to. Jesus acts. he tells the servants to fill the six stone waterpots. after they do so he tells them to take some out and bring it to the headwaiter. the water has turned into wine - the best tasting wine.
it is familiar to us because of the miracle that Jesus performs. Jesus turns water into wine. but the miracle involves other people. mary acts by asking Jesus to do something. the servants act in obedience to his instructions. in fact, take not of the details. mary tells the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them to do just after Jesus has said that the situation is none of their business, that his hour "has not yet come." she acts in faith, in confidence, because she knows the character of Jesus. the servants participate in the miracle as well. the task may not seem unusual to them, but they obey. not only do they put some water in the waterpots - they fill them to the brim. they don't just obey to the extent that is acceptable - they obey completely.
did Jesus need to use anyone else in order to perform the miracle? did he need the existing waterpots, let alone the people, in order to turn water into wine? no. Jesus had the power and ability to act all on his own, but he chose to use others.
does God need us to accomplish his purpose? no. He could do it all Himself. yet, he chooses to use us each and every day. we need to be available and obedient when God asks. "our availability allows us to do the things that we can do to set a backdrop for God to do the mighty things only he can do." the result is not our responsibility. the result should not be our goal either. in fact, we may not always even see the outcome of our obedience. what God asks us to do may not be anything great or extraordinary. in this story, the servants simply followed every day orders - something they did every other day. but Jesus used these everyday people by asking them to do everyday things.
the task may seem simple. sometimes it may even seem "beneath" what we think we are worth. filling up the waterpots was no grandiose task, but the servants filled them to the brim. we must be willing to do our best too, not settle for anything less.
Lord, it is a privilege to be used by you for your glory. open my ears and my heart to be available and obedient when you ask me to do something.
1 comment:
it is funny how we convince ourselves that God "needs" us -- as if he couldn't accomplish His good work without us. he wants us -- yes -- but he doesn't need us. it shows what a bloated conception we can have of ourselves sometimes -- that we go back and forth between ridiculous amounts of pride and then into the depths of insecurity.
at the cross, both of these are resolved. we have to deal with our pride because we are forced to see the deep stain of our sin in our lives. on the other hand, we shouldn't be insecure because we also see the unfathomable depth of God's love for us.
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