The Best is Yet to Come

Carol Madere, our Chair of Elders also serves as our Board Chaplain and provides the devotionals for our Board meetings.  On Tuesday, January 24, Carol shared the following devotional with the board before we opened the meeting to business.

In John 2: 1-11, John describes the miracle at Cana when Jesus turns water into wine. As John describes it, this miracle, or more accurately this sign of the kingdom, is a sign of re-creation, renewal, God doing something new, God once again breaking into the ordinary and doing something deep, rich and extraordinary, God showing us that the best is yet to come!

How can we apply ‘water into wine’ to ourselves? 

Jesus does not often ask us to do wild, wacky, far-out things for him. As servants of Jesus his instructions to us are very often simple, plain and straightforward. “Fill the jars with water. Draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet” (2:7-8). Do we sometimes overcomplicate what we believe God is asking of us? Do we need to remind ourselves of the simple, plain and straightforward things we’re called to do: Love God. Love your neighbor. Love your enemies. Forgive as God forgives you.

The master of the banquet calls the bridegroom aside: “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine but you’ve saved the best till now”.

Some people look back on an earlier phase in their life and think of it as the best part of their life. They were great times - like a fine wine perhaps. Everything that’s happened since seems watery or of lesser quality in comparison. Yet Jesus turned water into wine towards the end of the banquet: “You have saved the best till now.” Could it be that for you and me the best is yet to come, if we’re open to God’s changes?

What a poignant message for our congregation right now.  These next few months will be different.  We will have different challenges, along with new blessings.  We will have different tasks and ways of serving the church as we embrace what it means to be FCCBRLA in this new time.  There may be some tasks that seem complicated and complex, but in reality we need to keep at the forefront the simple message to love our neighbors, love our enemies, forgive as God forgives, and to listen for God’s call.

We want to remember the wonderful memories, and the way things were because they WERE great and things were good.  We have a great congregation and family of faith – so there are certainly bright spots in earlier phases in the life of First Christian Church.  But with all due respect to the wonderful things that have happened at FCCBRLA, we also know and trust that God has great things planned for this congregation.

Jesus turned water into wine towards the end of the banquet.  Is this the end of the banquet?  Or the beginning, or somewhere in the middle?  The truth?  It doesn’t matter where we’re at in the timing of “the banquet.”  What matters is that we trust in God’s guidance.  We trust that God will work through us and work with us to make great things happen if we will listen and respond when we are called.

God is not asking US to perform the miracles.  God is asking us to “Fill the jars with water,” and to “Draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”  God will take care of the miracles.  God will take care of us.  Our job is to listen to God’s call and to respond.  When we do those things, we can truly say, “The Best is Yet to Come!”

Blessings…. Laura and Carol Madere