by Pastor Rich Carlson

 “Son, we’ve run out of drink,” said Mary to Jesus at the wedding which she, Jesus, and His disciples were attending in Cana. Mary knew He could solve the problem, and asked Him to refill the jars in which the drink was stored.
 

His answer was not an instant miracle, but a respectful question. “Dear woman, why do you involve me?…My time has not yet come” (John 2:1-4).

Although Mary’s motives for her request were misguided, she did have a correct view of Jesus’ mission. In faith, she told the servants to do whatever Jesus asked. And in response to Mary’s trust in Him, Jesus told the servants to fill six jars and they filled them to the brim (verse 7).

I think the servants understood Jesus’ power and goodness. They obeyed to the fullest extent of the request even if it didn’t make a lot of sense (after all, they needed juice, not water). And when they were told to take the miraculous contents to the guests, they did so without apparent hesitation. They did not stop to ask, “It’s scientifically impossible to turn water into another drink. How can He do that?”

When Jesus speaks, do we listen? More than that, do we obey? And when we obey do we do so fully or only as far as it makes rational sense to us? Maybe that’s part of the reason why there aren’t more miracles today—maybe God knows that if He set the stage for a miracle we would spend more time analyzing and rationalizing it than simply obeying.

Even though His time had not yet come, the text says Jesus revealed His glory and the disciples put their faith in Him (verse 11). Jesus worked a miracle because a few people knew the value of listening to Him intently and obeying Him explicitly. I want to be like those faithful few, don’t you?
 

Rich Carlson is campus chaplain at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. “God Is Faithful” is adapted from the email devotionals he writes regularly for the Union College family. Rich enjoys filling his life with God, his family, and especially his five grandchildren.