January 30, 2023
Responding Correctly
“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
John 2:1-5 (NASB)
Have you ever heard your mom say, “Do what you’re told you to do,” or “Whatever He says to you, do it.” When you ask the parent why they respond, “Because I said so!” Quietly (and hopefully) you respond to your parent and do it. Otherwise, you might be in for a long day. These answers might work in the early years of raising our children, but they won’t last for long. Children get wise to our old ways and learn how to circumvent. In raising children, questions asked, warrant answers. Answers that have good solid reasoning. The responses above sound a lot like the response Jesus gave to his mother. She responds with this answer, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” This time, the son is telling the mother what to do, not vice-versa.
Let’s face it though, in life there a lot of times when doing what we are told doesn’t make sense. “Whatever He says to you, do it.” We want people to see the urgency of our situation. This way they respond the way we want. In this story, Jesus is attending a wedding in Cana with his mother and disciples. The wine runs out. The host was responsible for providing wine throughout the wedding feast, which typically lasted seven days. Jesus at this time is a guest of the betrothed. He has no other involvement in the wedding. Mary impresses Him to do something about the wine issue. His response, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” He hints to her that He would do something, but at His own time. She understood Him and responded to the wait staff, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
In life, there are many times where things seem to be going one way and then take a radically different direction. All is smooth and then all of a sudden something unexpected happens. These are times where we must take time to look to Jesus, the way Mary did. She knew He had all the answers to the issue at hand. He holds life’s answers to every person ever born. “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Even soldiers on a battlefield often don’t understand why they are to obey the commands they are given, but they hear the voice of their leader saying, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” It is for the good cause, and our good cause is Christ.
Can this be done each day in the life of the believer though? Absolutely. A life that is surrendered to Jesus is one of ongoing faith. The more the faith grows, the easier it is to follow when you can see little or not at all. Remember though, Jesus determines when and how He will act in these situations. Our timing is often not His. The only thing we can do is to listen to His command, and respond as Mary gave instructions, ““Whatever He says to you, do it.” This is one of the hardest challenges for most Christians today. Will you commit today to become more faithful to His instructions? Even when times are hardest? I guarantee that it will be a turning point in your faith walk. If He asks you to do it, “do it.”