Most of us grow up with dreams and aspirations, yet we hear people around us say that we can’t do it. “You aren’t old enough…healthy enough…strong enough…wrong gender…wrong personality…you made the wrong mistake.” We grow up around people who are trying to fit us inside a box.
But God doesn’t want us to fit inside a box. He called us to live outside of ourselves. He wants to be our strength when we are weak. He wants to push us past our limits so that the world will see His goodness within us.
Although the world says we are the wrong vessels, God says that His perfectness can fit inside our broken vessels, and His goodness will pour out of our brokenness.
John 2 talks about the first miracle of Jesus—when He turns water into wine. Jesus was at a wedding with his mother and disciples; Mary told Jesus that the wine was gone. He replies, “My hour has not yet come”; however, Jesus is not bound by time, and He performs the miracle anyway.
He tells the servants to fill six stone jars, which were used for purification of the Jews. Let me tell you something—in the old testament, it was a law that certain jars could only be used for one purpose, and it was only replaced when it broke. A jar that was used for purification could ONLY be used for purification. It was forbidden to use that same jar to hold food or drink.
But God is not bound by rules. Jesus was a tradition-breaker: he used the WRONG vessels to perform this miracle.
But was it the wrong vessel? Absolutely not. It was the imperfect vessel that held the perfect treasure; all eyes focus on the treasure and glorify the Lord instead of glorifying the carrier (2 Cor 4:7).
Likewise, the more broken we are, the more God’s goodness can shine through our many cracks and holes.
John 2:10 say “And the master of the feast called the bridegroom, saying ‘Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests are well drunk, they bring out the lesser wine. You have kept the good wine until now.” The Lord’s “Goodness Meter” never runs out. When we finish the good wine, He brings even better for us.
When you look at yourself and think you aren’t good enough or worthy enough for God’s goodness…When the world tells you that you are broken and cannot contribute to anything, GOD SAYS OTHERWISE. He wants our brokenness. He wants to mend us and fill us with His PERFECT gifts so that we pour out His blessings to those around us. Even when we are weak, HE IS STRONG.
He can use our ordinary vessels to do the extraordinary. And He has saved the good wine for “such a time as this!”
