Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water.
And they filled them up to the brim.
~John 2:7

 

Fill 'Er Up
 
 
Temperatures soared last week. It was Independence Day Week and a lot of people traveled despite the heat. One good thing all those traveling found was that gas prices actually dropped a little. Many who haven't filled their tanks up in awhile did. Most knew the lower prices wouldn't be around forever and decided to take advantage of the holiday deals being offered whether or not they went on a vacation. I was one of the homebodies who filled my tank with gas for under $3 a gallon.
 
As I pumped the gas I remembered when I didn't know how to pump gas when I first started driving. There were still some full-service stations around then. I would pull up to the pumps and the attendant would come out, check my tires, wash my windshield and ask, "fill 'er up?" I don't remember saying "yes" to the question too often. Even though the gas was available and offered, I seldom ever took all that the tank would hold. Getting five dollars in the tank back then took me to and from work for a week at a time. I was satisfied and thankful for just enough to get me and five children where we were going.
 
This was true of many things in my life then as we struggled just to make it from one week to the next. We would make it to the next week, but there was no peace, only panic, and perplexity as we continued on in a seemingly unbreakable cycle.
 
I was a Christian but did not realize that God wanted to be my source and my peace. Many Christians truly love the Lord but don't allow Him to truly be Lord of their entire life. We often hold on to doubts and fears and worries (what-ifs.) God has so much to offer, so much more than we are accepting from Him. Why do we worry and fret, when God is in control of all things? He is even in control when the tank runs all the way down to empty.
 
In John 7 there was a wedding with many guests. The wine bottles were all empty. Can you imagine having guests expecting to eat and drink and you have nothing for them? How embarrassing! What will they think? What are we going to do? I am sure there was a mother of the bride in the background at the wedding in Cana of Galilee fretting and worrying.
 
Now here is the question we have heard many times and even worn as a bracelet on our arms... WWJD? What would Jesus do? Or perhaps I should rephrase that, what did Jesus do? He turned water into wine and it was the best wine the guests had ever tasted.  We all love to hear this story of Jesus' first miracle which came about after His mother urged Him into it, even though Jesus felt this was not meant to be His first miracle. It wasn't time yet. But I can almost hear Mary tell Him, "Yes, it's time." For she told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do to fix this problem.
 
What did He tell them to do? He looked around and used what was available. There were six waterpots that were used for washing. They each contained two or three firkins each. A firkin is equal to nine gallons. So if we do the math and say an average of two and a half firkins in each of the six waterpots we come up with twenty and a half gallons in each of the six pots. And remember these pots were not full. Those were some big 'tanks' to fill. The servants took those huge pots and filled them to the brim, I suppose with clean water. Jesus then turned the water to wine. Wow, that is a lot of wine!
 
Notice Jesus simply told them to fill the waterpots, but the servants not only filled them but filled them to the brim. They wanted ALL Jesus had to offer. I believe we should closely observe what Jesus did and take these things and apply them to situations in our lives today.
 
First of all when Jesus tells you to do something - DO IT! Instead of whining and whimpering about what you don't have, use what is available to you. Always take ALL that Jesus offers. Don't be satisfied with just enough to get you where you are going, (which hopefully is Heaven) but when He gives you an opportunity to improve something in your life while you are here on earth, make the most of it. Don't just fill up, fill up to the brim!