Water Into Wine

The first miracle Jesus performed was turning water into wine.

For many, this miracle may sound frivolous at first pass, and may even offend our conservative values. But a quick history of Jewish weddings and culture reveals the significance of this first miracle.

Weddings were a big deal in first-century Jewish culture. It was a family's moment to shine and lasted for days. It was shameful to run out of wine or food at such occasions. When the wedding Jesus attended began to run low on wine, it wasn't an inconvenience, it was a complete and utter shame.

There are two things that stand out to me every time I read this story. The first is that the master of the banquet complimented the host on bringing out the best wine last. What this tells me is that God wants the best for us. Jesus' miracle would have been miraculous enough if he would have simply created wine from water. But God doesn't do anything "good enough," He desires the very best for us. So as we look for God's direction through our year at Darden and in our upcoming careers (and lives!), we should learn to expect the best. I can say from personal experience, that even though I had a run-out-of-wine situation in my life last year, God's plan worked out and it was amazing.

The other lesson from this story is one that really hit home during a sermon from a few weeks ago. Jesus met the host of the feast at his very moment of shame and redeemed it. This has two implications for us. First, whatever our "shames" are in life, we need to trust that when we bring them to God, he brings healing, glory and redemption.

The other implication is that we need to look for where God can use us to turn water into wine. Our classmates are each going through their own struggles, whether it's as simple as DA classes, as existential as "what do I want to do with my life", or something as deep and hidden as past hurts. As tempting as it may be to simply keep our heads above water getting through school involvement, classes and recruiting, we need to be looking to where we can play a part into turning water into wine.