A Bit of Wonderful, Please! - August 6, 2010

Good Friday morning! I'm having a good Friday cookie while my Grape Nuts soak up some milk; the cat it seems is trying to ingest himself. Not sure what is bothering him so, but he wants it gone! Speaking of appearances or 'seeming', we seemed to talk rather late last night at our life group meeting, but in truth it wasn't all that late when we finished. It's August and that means we start to notice that the days are getting shorter now. I had to turn on a lamp to read my Bible the past couple of nights, something I didn't need to do in July, and the morning light doesn't seem to get me up quite as early as it did a month ago. For some this is a tough time of the year as summer's light wanes and school time arrives like a long dreaded bit of bad news. I like the approach of autumn, even though we still have over a month to go before it arrives officially.
Jesus gave the first sign of his arrival in our verses for the past few days. The wedding miracle at Cana is his first in his new ministry. I find it interesting that Jesus' first miracle is one so secular in a way. "They are out of wine! Okay, here you go, my finest vintage!" To sum up rather glibly a miracle we don't have the knowledge to do ourselves. I mean, imagine how the soft drink companies would suffer if we could go around changing water into Diet Dr Pepper! Or what if each of us could produce 120 gallons or so of the finest coffee from our water jars at the drop of a hat?

This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him. (John 2:11)

As far as I know, this kind of miracle was never repeated by Jesus or his disciples, and has not been done since in the world. So perhaps this miracle is not so secular as it seems to us. Jesus fulfilled a need with the wine, and honored his mother by taking care of the problem she brought to him. Jesus also showed us his strength by doing something not one of us could do in our own strength. This miracle kicked off Jesus' ministry in a big way. We see from the verse that his disciples believed in him right then. No doubt a few servants did too! I wonder how many others came to believe in, or at least took notice of, Jesus at that time? In reading through the Gospel of John, we certainly come to notice Jesus when we think about this miracle. Turn water into wine? I wouldn't even know how to begin, but I do know who to turn to with a need that is beyond my strength and ability. Trust in Jesus; if he can add some wine to a wedding, he can certainly add some wonderful to your life!

Have a wonderful Friday!

Bucky