Sunday’s message in the beginning of the book of John was truly eye-opening to me, and I have read that passage hundreds of times. Isn’t it amazing how the Lord can reveal things to us in scripture that we have glossed over or not paid attention to?
I was especially appreciating Pastor Jason’s attention to the servants and how they must have felt bringing the water-turned-into-wine before the master of the feast. Was there hesitancy, fear, trepidation? Were they worried about losing their jobs or possibly their lives? What would happen if they served him water instead of wine? Like Pastor Jason said…this was an act of faith.
He compared it to the way we offer our lives before Christ. It’s true…all we really have to offer is water. God reminded me in that moment of all the times I approached Him with my meager gifts…yet He made something beautiful out of them. As we present our offering, He multiplies it. And in the multiplication, there is abundance…more than we could ever ask or think.
I am quick to say the phrase, “God will give you just enough strength for today…” to my friends who are suffering. This truth is real and relevant, but I also wonder if I should, at times, expect big gestures of grace. The times where God goes over and above and beyond…true abundance in the middle of ministry.
It reminds me of the five loaves and two fish…another instance of over-the-top providing from our great God. It says in Matthew 14 that the disciples, “took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.” He could have given “just enough” but He lavished them with more.
Sitting further with the idea of pouring out our lives before Him, I was reminded of a passage I just read in the Old Testament where Jacob built an altar to remember God at Bethel.
It says in Genesis 35:14 that, “Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil.” (Genesis 35:14 NLT)
How beautiful it is that we get to see these moments of surrender, between a believer and his/her Master. And these moments of offering are not just limited to the New Testament. We see Paul speaking in the same language, of “pouring out his life” in Philippians 2:17-18:
"But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.” (NLT)
It seems as though pouring and joy are linked…just like as we were encouraged on Sunday. It’s in the pouring that we grow closer and more dependent on Christ. It’s in the pouring that we see the hand of God when all we have to offer is our weakness.
In John 12, we see Mary pouring out her expensive bottle of perfume, a symbolic act of preparing Jesus for burial. Her offering that day was her tears and her heart. A pouring out of love.
I wish I could sit with you at coffee and let you know what you need to pour out, but really, that is such a deep and intimate matter of the heart. No one can truly “tell” us this other than Jesus Himself. He knows what we hold tightly and what we would rather not give up. He knows what we struggle to surrender.
I’ve never thought of myself as the servant in that story, filling up those jugs with water, hoping for a miracle to happen…but now I see it. And it actually takes the pressure off of my shoulders to “produce” anything on my own. It’s His doing…it’s His miracle. We are living images of our great Savior.
This week, let’s mediate on God’s call to surrender and trust, let’s loosen our grip over anything we might be holding too tightly, and let’s invite Him into our everyday so that we can see and experience and know the abundance of His grace.
At the end of our lives, may we say these beautiful words with Paul:
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
1 Timothy 4:6-7 (NKJV)
I was especially appreciating Pastor Jason’s attention to the servants and how they must have felt bringing the water-turned-into-wine before the master of the feast. Was there hesitancy, fear, trepidation? Were they worried about losing their jobs or possibly their lives? What would happen if they served him water instead of wine? Like Pastor Jason said…this was an act of faith.
He compared it to the way we offer our lives before Christ. It’s true…all we really have to offer is water. God reminded me in that moment of all the times I approached Him with my meager gifts…yet He made something beautiful out of them. As we present our offering, He multiplies it. And in the multiplication, there is abundance…more than we could ever ask or think.
I am quick to say the phrase, “God will give you just enough strength for today…” to my friends who are suffering. This truth is real and relevant, but I also wonder if I should, at times, expect big gestures of grace. The times where God goes over and above and beyond…true abundance in the middle of ministry.
It reminds me of the five loaves and two fish…another instance of over-the-top providing from our great God. It says in Matthew 14 that the disciples, “took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.” He could have given “just enough” but He lavished them with more.
Sitting further with the idea of pouring out our lives before Him, I was reminded of a passage I just read in the Old Testament where Jacob built an altar to remember God at Bethel.
It says in Genesis 35:14 that, “Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil.” (Genesis 35:14 NLT)
How beautiful it is that we get to see these moments of surrender, between a believer and his/her Master. And these moments of offering are not just limited to the New Testament. We see Paul speaking in the same language, of “pouring out his life” in Philippians 2:17-18:
"But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.” (NLT)
It seems as though pouring and joy are linked…just like as we were encouraged on Sunday. It’s in the pouring that we grow closer and more dependent on Christ. It’s in the pouring that we see the hand of God when all we have to offer is our weakness.
In John 12, we see Mary pouring out her expensive bottle of perfume, a symbolic act of preparing Jesus for burial. Her offering that day was her tears and her heart. A pouring out of love.
I wish I could sit with you at coffee and let you know what you need to pour out, but really, that is such a deep and intimate matter of the heart. No one can truly “tell” us this other than Jesus Himself. He knows what we hold tightly and what we would rather not give up. He knows what we struggle to surrender.
I’ve never thought of myself as the servant in that story, filling up those jugs with water, hoping for a miracle to happen…but now I see it. And it actually takes the pressure off of my shoulders to “produce” anything on my own. It’s His doing…it’s His miracle. We are living images of our great Savior.
This week, let’s mediate on God’s call to surrender and trust, let’s loosen our grip over anything we might be holding too tightly, and let’s invite Him into our everyday so that we can see and experience and know the abundance of His grace.
At the end of our lives, may we say these beautiful words with Paul:
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
1 Timothy 4:6-7 (NKJV)
Erika Pizzo
Erika is an author of various books on the topics of faith, mental health, and victory in Christ. Erika lives with her husband, daughter, son, and their fluffy poodle in sunny Southern California. Her two favorite things are a visit to the beach and a chai latte in hand.