The Purpose of Transformation, Water Into Wine
"7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew..." John 2:7-9
It's a wonder to consider that Jesus begins his ministry in such a simple way. Actually, I take that back, transforming water into wine is no simple feat. Yet, it can feel anticlimactic when we expect a different way in which Jesus would reveal himself to others as the Son of God and promised Messiah.
As we start this new year off, I wonder if we anticipate and only expect God to work in the ways we can only see in our narrow flight path? Or, can we anticipate that Jesus will take what we thought was empty and useless and suddenly call us to fill them with something life giving? Not only will he stop there with filling us in a new capacity or promise, he then will seek for us to obey him to the point to draw out of this place something worthy to be used and offered for the banquet of this life we are a part of.
To me, I have seen God do this very miracle in myself and in others. To take what was empty vessels of the heart and to watch Jesus call to fill them up again with his word and truth. To dare to look at the present with all the bitterness of the past and risk the hope that what could be carried in these jars was not only hope, but the makings of something different, new, and redeemed.
11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
This "simple" miraculous sign was only to accomplish one goal, to reveal God's glory manifested in Jesus and for his followers to believe in him.
This is the same outcome we can hope for as we look to this year with anticipation and promise not stemming from what we will collect and draw from our own strength and ambition (usually resulting in resolutions forgotten by February 1st). Rather, something distinctly new, fresh, and worthy to give God glory and for us to place our trust, faith, and lives into.
Considering this first miracle of Christ, what wondrous act that may be "simple" or complex could God call you to fill with fresh hope, prayer, and obedience?
Remember, that while these jars were being filled, it was only when they were full that Jesus then called for them to be drawn from. This can be the same for us as we are eager to only get an amount that we think is enough to draw on. We must be patient, faithful, and obedient to Christ's voice being the signal to inform us when there is an ample supply of what he has gathered in us to be transformed and shared with our world.
I pray that wherever you find yourself this first few days of 2019 that you are open to God filling you, healing you, and working in you to the point where he can call out of you faith and obedience that displays His glory for the world to see and for other followers of Christ to put their faith into him. This is no small wonder that God seeks to have us be his own miracles for the world to behold.
Keep Looking Up!
