When the Wine Runs Out in Your Marriage
I have loved the show called “The Chosen” based on the life of Jesus. One of my favorite scenes is in season one, where the first miracle takes place at a wedding. Don’t you find it interesting that a wedding is where Jesus performs his first public miracle? The writers of the scene do an awesome job creating a sense of the significance of the wedding feast. It also gives us a glimpse into how big a deal it was that the wine ran out. I think it is also a reminder of how big a deal it is, when we feel like the wine has run out of our marriage, it feels like it is empty.
In the scene, and according to scripture, Jesus’s mother becomes aware of the empty wine jugs. She goes to Jesus to ask him to do something. Jesus tells his mom that His time has not come (to publicly reveal himself). But what is fascinating is what she says. She turns to the servers at the wedding, and she says, “Do whatever He tells you to do.” What Jesus told them to do probably sounded crazy to them. He tells them to fill the jugs up with water. Water is not what they needed, wine is what they need. But they did what he asked.
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"Mary then said to the servants, “Do whatever Jesus tells you to do.”
John 2:5 CEV
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What if we approached our marriage, that feels like the wine has run out, in the same way?
What if we take the first step- to decide to do, what Jesus tells us to do?
What if we start from where we are?
What if we admit we are empty, and then “do what he tells you to do?”
What if we made the first move to respond to our spouse with agape love (love that is action, not based on feeling, but choosing to respond in love)?
What if we do what we can, with what we have?
Maybe that means, using a softer tone, or holding our tongue, or acknowledging something that we do appreciate about our spouse. Jesus asked them to fill the jars with water, then he did the miracle. Maybe God is asking you, to start where you are, just do what he is asking you to do, while you wait on the miracle.
Remember, after the wine was empty …………………. Jesus filled it with what was better!
~Carla