Lover of my soul III

Jesus changes water to wine. John 2:1-11

Here Jesus and Mary are at a wedding banquet. The guests have consumed all of the wine on hand. Mary tells Jesus they ran out of wine. He informs her His time has not come.  She proceeded to advise the servants to listen to Him anyway. He tells them to fill the six stone jars with water, draw some out, and serve the master of the banquet. He was impressed that the wine was the best he tasted throughout the banquet.

There are many things we can learn from this little scenario such as Mary’s faith when she brought the problem to Jesus, how Jesus can never turn away a request of faith whether explicit or implicit, the importance of obedience, the unconventional means Jesus uses, how Jesus included the servants in this miracle, how He always saves the best for last, how He always does everything perfectly, etc … There is one lesson we can learn here that is repeated several times throughout the Bible. It is how God uses the little we have to glorify Himself and bring forth a miracle. The first example I can recall is the widow at Zarephath. The prophet Elijiah was told to go to the widow to be fed with her household during the famine. All she had was a handful of flour and a little oil. Neither the flour nor the oil ran out until there was rainfall on the land. Please refer to I Kings 17:7-24 for the whole story. Another reference is in II Kings 4:1-7. Here a prophet’s widow is left indebted and the creditors wanted her sons as slaves. The prophet Elisha questioned what she had at home. She had some oil. He advised her to ask all of her neighbors for empty jars to fill them, sell them, pay off her debts, and live off the rest. Another example is in II Kings 4:42-44 where Elisha prophesied that 20 loaves of barley bread and some ears of corn would satisfy 100 people with some left over. And it was so. I am sure you know by now which examples are next. Yes! How Jesus fed the thousands with few fish and bread. The Bible documents two instances only. There is no way of now knowing how many times He really fed the people. We will know later. The moral of the story? Whatever little is given to God will be multiplied innumerably whether we are aware of it or not. ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap if we do not give up.’ Galatians 6:9

Since there was wine in this scene, does this mean that Jesus advocates wine / alcohol drinking? What do you think?

Consider Jesus

No one knows suffering more than Jesus did. He had it all: the physical, the emotional, the psychological, and the spiritual pains. Why did He bear such suffering?

The physical pains are well known especially after Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ hit mainstream media. Just a quick note about those: Pilate had Him flogged to spare crucifying Him. He was either to be flogged or crucified. But popular opinion overruled Pilate’s intentions. He was flogged and crucified so the prophecy in Isaiah 53 would be fulfilled.

What about the emotional and psychological pains? His own family members mistreated Him. His townsfolk did not believe in Him. He had nowhere to call home. Women were supporting His ministry. He felt misunderstood especially by the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Teachers of the Law. His disciples firmly believed His kingdom was an earthly kingdom. Some followed Jesus just to be occasionally fed. What about all the ones He healed? How many really appreciated Him and what He did for them? He felt loneliness especially the last night before His arrest. Judas betrayed Him. Peter denied knowing Him. All disciples abandoned Him at His arrest. He was rejected by most. Did He retaliate? Jesus knew all of this and never stooped down to humankind’s level. His love caused Him to overlook many, many things including ignorance.

What about spiritual pains? He carried all of our transgressions and trespasses onto Himself. He was sacrificed in our place. God, the Father, turned His face away from Jesus while crucified. He felt rejected by the Father. Where had Jesus gone after His death and before His resurrection?  Has He gone down into the heart of the earth?

as He

How does one know if what he or she is experiencing is real love? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 is a memorized verse by many. God loved and gave. It goes hand in hand. Real love is all about giving of self especially. God gave Himself in Jesus. Love drove Jesus to take on humble human form to be a sacrifice for mere dust. He became the bridge that reconciles human to the Father. He gave us the right to call God, ‘Abba Father’. Through His suffering He healed us of all infirmity whether physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual. Through His suffering He can commiserate and empathize with us during our suffering.  While suffering, He thought of us above all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=AjYiEyu8Si8

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank you for you and all you do for us continually. Life is so much richer for you are in it. Please do your will in the lives of your children. Please be glorified in your children. Thank you.

Happy Resurrection Day!!!