QUARANTINE BLOG # 20

April 19, 2020


HOW MUCH DO I MATTER?
John 2:1-11
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+2%3A1-11&version=NCV


Let’s pretend you are an angel in the era before the Messiah. God has not yet come to the earth, but he soon will and that’s where you come in. You’ve been given a special assignment, to determine the first miracle which Jesus will perform. 

I wasn’t on that committee, so I don’t know what miracle you picked, but I’m sure you decided it had to be powerful, undeniable, and unforgettable.

Well, you’ve read the story in John’s gospel and you know what the first miracle was. Jesus and his disciples are at a wedding. The host runs out of wine. There is no place to buy more, so Jesus, at his mother’s urging, transforms six jugs of water into six jugs of the best wine anyone ever tasted.

That’s it. Certainly not the way I’d write the script, but there is more to this than we think.

You see, a wedding in the day of Christ was no small event. After the actual ceremony, the couple would go home to a party which could last for a week. The host honored the guests by keeping their plates full and their cups overflowing. It was considered an insult to the guests if the host ran out of food or wine.

Wine was not for drunkenness. The presence of wine stated that this was a special day and that all the guests were special guests. The absence of wine was a social embarrassment.

Mary is one of the first to notice that the wine has run out. She goes to her son and points out the problem: “They have no more wine.”

Jesus responded, “Dear woman, why come to me? My time has not yet come.”

Now, whatever plan you and the other angels came up with, it’s about to go right out the window.

His mother was invited to the wedding, so these people must be friends, friends who are in a bind. A young couple whose married life is about to get off the wrong foot, an embarrassment that won’t soon go away.

So Jesus performs his first miracle to keep two people from being embarrassed! It’s not a miracle that could be compared with emptying a cemetery and leading a parade of newly resurrected folks into town. It’s not like emptying the world of disease so the coronavirus pandemic never happens. But from a human point of view, it is the best possible miracle.

God being concerned with such an insignificant thing tells you that what matters to you matters to God. Uncertain employment, wearing face masks everywhere you go, the frustration of so many events being canceled – those things matter to God. He proved it at a wedding.

Do you know who you are? “The Father has loved us so much that we are called  children of God. And we really are his children” (1 John 3:1).

We! Are! His children! Not just the superstars like Mother Teresa or Billy Graham. They certainly are, but so am I! So are you!

Why did Jesus change the water to wine? To impress the crowd? No, they didn’t even know he did it. To get the wedding master’s attention? No, he thought the groom was being generous. Why did Jesus do it? His friends were embarrassed. And he cared.

So go ahead. Tell God what hurts. Talk to him. He won’t turn you away. He won’t think it’s silly. “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted – knowing exactly how it feels to be human – in every respect as we are, yet without committing any sin. Therefore let us, with privilege, approach the throne of grace, that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor, with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy for our failures and find His amazing grace to help in time of need – an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment.” (Hebrews 4:15-16 Amplified).

Does God care about the little things in your life? You better believe it. How much do you matter? So much that God sent his Son to die for you. If it matters to you, it matters to him.

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