This morning I read the story about Jesus turning water into wine, which, we’re told, was the first of His miracles on earth (2:11).
I have always wondered why this story is in the Bible. Except for the fact that it’s Jesus’ first miracle, which clues us into how things got started, it doesn’t seem to teach us anything. But I read it a little differently this morning...

In a weird way, wine in this story is better than water, and I think it strangely shows us the difference between life with Christ (wine) and life without (water).

Wine has flavor. Water doesn’t.

Wine has color. Water doesn’t.

Wine brings energy, intoxication, (temporal) joy. Water doesn’t.

In 1st century Israel, wine even brought health. Water could make you sick.

So, through this lens, Jesus’ first miracle was sort of a big picture look at what He does with a life. He takes our colorless, flavorless, boring, joyless, sickly lives, and brings flavor, color, eternal joy, and new life.

I also noticed that when the servants drew out the water to bring it to the master of the feast, it was still water. It became wine during the walk... during the journey.
That seems to be how He operates in our lives today. We don’t get to see the water become wine until we take the water and start to deliver it...

Labels: god, musings, perspective