During a recent sharing, Pastor D, from a church in East China, exhorts believers to ask Jesus to join them when they face important but difficult moments in life because he is at the party with us and can give us practical help.
Citing John 2, the pastor shared that at the wedding in Cana, Jesus miraculously turned the embarrassment of "running out of wine" into the joy of "enjoying the finest wine." And there were six large stone water pots at the venue for the Jews, who were observant of the law, to perform their washing ceremonies. He explained, "This leads us to ask a question: is having the Christian faith similar to setting up the stone waterpots? Some Christians think that faith is about following the laws and rules, and as long as they have done this, they will be blessed by God to have a safe and smooth life. But just like at the wedding, we may have prepared for everything, but problems still arise and the joy is missing."
"Real faith is about entering into the life of Jesus so that He can be with us at the party. Jesus is so full of life that when we are with Him, we can share His abundance, joy, and holiness. We cannot earn any of this through our efforts. For example, we can have a well-behaved husband or wife who is faithful, hardworking, and without faults, but this does not mean that you are a couple who share an intimate relationship. Is the happiness, sweetness, and joy of love still there? Or have you run out of wine?" he added.
On the other hand, the six waterpots were not completely filled, and in a similar way, the law is like an outer shell where no one really knows how much is inside. But it was the water that was previously in the pots that Jesus turned into the fine wine. He did not abolish the law but fulfilled it, just as He did not empty the pots but brought the wine of heaven, which points to the Holy Spirit, into the water of the law.
After Jesus ascended to heaven, on the day of Pentecost, many people were filled with the new wine of heaven, and they brought this new wine to those who had only "the six stone waterpots" and had to constantly cleanse themselves with water so that more people could see the faith that is alive. From then on, the water became wine, and the new did what the old could not.
"We need the cleansing of water, but we also need the outpouring of the Holy Spirit," he concluded.
- Translated by Joyce Leung
