John 2: 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you to do.”
In the second chapter of John, we read that Jesus and his disciples were invited to participate in the wedding festivities held in the town of Cana. I think it’s important to look at this event a few different ways.
In this story, Jesus is surrounded by his disciples yet he is also mingling with others in the community. As Christians, it’s so important for us to live in community with other Christians. Like the early church (Acts 2:42), we should encourage each other to live by God’s word and hold each other up in prayer. But it’s also important for us to remember the those around us in desperate need Jesus. So, when I am in situations that place me around those living with a “worldly” view, how do I act?
- Am I conducting myself in a manner that honors Christ?
- Does He shine through me in the way I speak and act towards others?
- Am I a person of honesty and integrity at work and in social situations?
- Do I gossip or point a judgmental finger at those who are different than me?
- When I mess up, do I fess up?
- Do I leave the doors of the church Sunday mornings and never give God a second thought until the next Sunday service?
Secondly, the wedding feast at Cana also gives us an opportunity to see Jesus perform his first miracle. “They have no more wine.” Jesus’s mother said to him in verse 3. What’s interesting is how Jesus responds. “Why come to me? My time has not yet come.” Mary understood something about Jesus. She recognized who Jesus was, the Son of the living God. But Jesus knew what his purpose was while he walked this earth. He knew what he had come to do and it wasn’t to turn water into wine. Jesus had been called for a specific purpose yet I wonder as I read these verses if he performed this miracle as an act of obedience to his mother? The Bible really doesn’t tell us. What the Bible does say is his glory was revealed and his followers believed in him. In everything Jesus did while he walked the earth, he brought honor and glory to his Father in heaven.
So again the question becomes: How am I living my life and, does everything I do bring honor and glory to Christ? Do my actions and reactions reveal Jesus to the lost world around me?
So, how about you? How do you respond in situations outside of the comfort of your Christian community?
