Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. John 2:11
For some reason, when I was a kid, it seemed like the front door of our home was permanently open, allowing in a constant stream of dinner guests. Because my parents had been missionaries and were involved in Christian ministry, most of these visitors were also missionaries, or they, too, were involved in Christian ministry.
Usually we enjoyed the presence of these dinner guests. However, sometimes the experience was not pleasant. There was the time when Mother served waffles with chicken sauce—including freshly boned baked chicken pieces. One of the men at the table asked, “Can I have the syrup, please.” When my mother told him that we were having chicken gravy over the waffles, he turned to her, set his jaw like a three-year-old, and repeated his request: “I said syrup, please.” My mother’s face turned ashen.
This rude exchange, of course, was the exception. Most of these dinners were enjoyable. As children, my five siblings and I had the opportunity of meeting many wonderful people, saints in the truest sense of the word. One of the things we learned at the table during these dinners was a secret code. If my mother was running short on something—green beans, for example—she would whisper in a voice only detectable by her direct offspring: “FHB the green beans”—family hold back on the green beans. And because we wanted to avoid the embarrassment of running out of something, we’d pass on the green beans.
Jesus’s first miracle was at a wedding reception. His mother must have had something to do with hosting the party because she was one of the first to know that the wine had run out, a faux pas of sizable proportions. It was too late to FHB on the wine. Mary came to Jesus with the news: “They don’t have any wine” (v. 3).
At first glance, Jesus’s response sounds abrupt, even a little rude. His mother knew of His special calling, and so she tried to gently coerce Him into fixing the problem. And seeing the potential embarrassment of the party’s host, Jesus created some more wine. Not only did He create good wine from nothing but water, but He also created great wine. And not only did He create great wine, but He also created 180 gallons of great wine, more wine than could have been consumed at this party. No more FHB on the wine.
Over the next three years of ministry, Jesus would perform many incredible miracles. He would cast out demons. He would heal sick people. He would even breathe life into a few dead people. So some may consider a miracle to keep a wedding reception from bombing to be fairly inconsequential. Not so.
There are special times in our lives when we need healing. There are moments when disaster strikes and we call on our Savior for supernatural intervention. But not a single day passes when we don’t need His grace, the fine wine of His love and forgiveness.
So He gives this grace to us—not only just enough but more than we could ever sip or chug, more than we could consume in a lifetime. God’s grace is abundant and precious. It is poured out on us in lavish measure. There’s no FHB on this. Bend an elbow. Drink up, my thirsty friend.