Home > Newsletter > By His Grace Simple WaterThe second chapter of John tell us that Jesus' first miracle was changing water into wine at a wedding that took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was the first to notice that the hosts had no more wine, and she approached Jesus. Ignoring His statement that His time had not yet come, she instructed the servants: "Do whatever He tells you." Jesus asked the servants to fill the available stone jars with water. And after they had done so, He told them to draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet who didn't know this wine had been water and proclaimed it "the best." I love this miracle because of the profound encouragement it offers. When we are in His service and find ourselves with nothing to offer-out of wineit is time to listen to Jesus' mother: "Do whatever He tells you." Notice that the servants didn't do anything extraordinary. They simply obeyed Jesus' instructions. Instructions that were simple, practical, and given only one at a time. He didn't tell them what to do next until they had obeyed the first command. He used ordinary, available, familiar objects. Only the result was supernatural. And I wonder if the servants even knew exactly when the water turned into wine. We tend to assume it was while the water was in the jars, but the text doesn't specify that. Jesus' miracles always seemed to involve someone's faith and/or obedience. I wonder if the servants started out carrying water to the master of the banquet and ended their short journey with wine. It doesn't say. But this miracle tells me that if we, His servants, obey Him and use what He has given us as He tells us to, somewhere in the ordinary process, our simple water will become His supernatural best wine. -Maria Lund |