My Key Verse: John 2:10 “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
My Reflections: My subtitle to this passage would be “Jesus serves expensive wine to drunk people.” Changing water into wine at a wedding in Cana was the first miraculous sign that is described in the gospels. Some might think it not a very auspicious start for the beginning of a revolutionary movement aimed at reconciling the world to God.
The wedding is in full swing, when the unthinkable happens…the wine runs out—an unpardonable offense in a culture that placed such great emphasis on hospitality. Jesus instructs some servants to fill up six large containers with water, and when they take a cup of the “water” to the dinner coordinator, the guy is shocked at the quality of the wine…it's superb. He points out that most would serve the best wine first and then serve the cheap stuff after people were too drunk to know the difference. But he didn’t know that the expensive wine he was tasting had been plain water just moments before.
So, people are drunk, but they need more wine. Jesus provides that wine, and in a setting where any low-quality swill would have been sufficient, he gives “the best.” Gourmet wine. And why not? After all, in v11, John says that, through this miracle, Jesus “revealed his glory.” This isn’t just wine at a party…this is the glory of God. This is an act whereby the Son of the living God demonstrates power over all of creation. Cheap wine was not an option.
So why is it an option with me? Not talking about wine…don’t really care for it, cheap or expensive. But when I have an opportunity to help reveal the glory of God, why am I sometimes guilty of giving less than my best? Why is halfway good enough? Why do I “wing” things that deserve my attention, effort and time? It’s cheap wine and I’m guilty all too often.
- I’m guilty of it with my family.
- I’m guilty of it with my preparations for Sunday.
- I’m guilty of it with my interactions with the staff and leadership here at NC3.
My Prayer: God, here is my prayer: no more cheap wine. No more halfway. No more winging it. But you know me, Lord. You know that everything I’m saying goes against my nature most of the time. When you decided to give, you gave your very best. You gave your Son…your very own self. When we, who are as worthy as a bunch of drunken wedding guests, needed forgiveness, you took our punishment upon yourself, sending Jesus to the cross to die. We needed a sacrifice…you gave your perfect Son. We deserved punishment…you allowed him to be killed in our place. We needed redemption…you raised us along with him from the dead. So forgive me for offering you my left-overs…my spare time. No more cheap wine, God. No more cheap wine. In the name of Jesus, who is more than worthy of all of our praise and adoration, Amen.
2 comments:
Corbett ,
WOW !
After reading your post , admiration in you and your thought process are the only things that come to mind “ and guilt for not looking as deep in the subject matter”.
The conviction from which you spoke , we should all be so lucky to look at our self’s in the same light.
Nicely done !
Jeff
Just another thing about the wine. It was already aged... Time is no problem for our God. I am reading along with a Commentary and I am absolutely floored at just what is in John. I am a few days behind in my journaling, not really sure that journaling is exactly my cup of tea though, but giving me a reason to study another book is awesome.
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