Withered

Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. Mark 3:1

He did not see perfection.

He did not see strength.

He did not see freshness.

Jesus saw something withered. A withered hand. Dry. Shrunken. Wrinkled.

Yet, Jesus stayed. Jesus does not go because he saw what he needed to see -- imperfection. He knows people who goes to his church are not perfect. He stayed because he is there to revive the withered. He is there to stretch what is shortened. He is there to make new out of the wrinkled. He is there to refresh the dryness.

He still does today.

Enter your church. Go into your homes. Look at your offices. See your campus. Jesus enters and stays with those places. To stretch the faith of the challenged. To revive the life out of the lifeless. To bless freshness into the tired and battered. To smoothen the wrinkled and stressed hearts. To bring healing to the dry relationships.


Let him enter your heart today. If your soul is withered, ask Jesus to come in. Expose your withered life. Let him see what he suppose to see. Open your tired mind and invite him to stay.


He will enter and he will stay.

For the withered.

Filling

Jesus told them, "Fill the jars with water." So they filled them to the brim. John 2:7
The jars are for wine, but they filled them with water.

These servers knew they are doing it the wrong way. If you are in a restaurant, it's like putting milk into those glass wine. However, Jesus tells them so. He told them to put the wrong substance inside the jars. And they did. And the wrong inside became the right inside.

Jesus made the wrong right.

When I was laid off from my job last year, everything was just wrong. As the only person working for our family, I can't classify this event being right. All seems to be going the wrong way. How will I feed my family? How can we meet our financial obligations? Being in this wrong situation took us to our knees.

And Jesus made the wrong right.

A day after that forgettable day, my current employer called me to arrange an interview in the coming week, and the rest is history or employment. Today, me and my wife look back and say to each other, "We are in a better place!"

Most of the time, Jesus tells you to fill the wine jars with water. It does not makes sense. It's just not right. It does not taste just like before. Volunteering for a college missions after graduation when you should get a job which pays you. Working everyday for a company where you commute a total of four hours back and forth which opened your career.  Speaking to college students in campus which trained you to speak for God in prayer meetings. You do it because he tells you. You go through it. And he goes through it with you. Thus the wrong becomes right.

Fill yourself with water when Jesus tells you. Surely, he will fill you with wine.