John 2:11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Jesus did many miracles for a number of reasons, but they all had two underlying reasons: first, they were to meet a need, and second, they were to inspire faith. In this instance, that John labels the first of His signs, the need might seem trivial. Running out of wine is either poor planning or inadequate finances, or both, and neither of those seem that earth-shaking, and certainly not “spiritual.” However, the issue generated embarrassment, and Jesus was merciful, probably because this met the second criterion of generating faith, specifically in His disciples. They had followed Him because they recognized He spoke God’s truth, but that could be true of any prophet. That Jesus could so casually convert so much water into high quality wine was clearly in a different category, and the disciples responded as Jesus intended. This certainly wasn’t full and perfect faith, as they demonstrated many times in the years following, but it was a real start. We too need to be constantly growing in faith, and we need to recognize God’s hand in the events around us precisely for that purpose. In a sense, you can say that faith generates faith, because when we believe God is at work in the world and in our lives, we recognize more evidence of that all the time. For an atheist, or even an agnostic, things seem to be pure chance, but the eyes of faith will see God’s hand at work all around us.

Having had the huge advantage of being raised in a household of faith, this has come relatively easily for me, and I’m deeply grateful. However, that in no way means that my faith is perfect! I feel I have been given the specific spiritual gift of faith, (1 Corinthians 12:9) but I’ve got to keep exercising it or it will atrophy. My flesh would rather not need faith, wanting everything to be automatic. That’s one reason I so look forward to heaven, because then, as the hymn says, my faith will become sight. However, God in His grace keeps stretching me, requiring me to exercise faith in countless little ways. Sometimes that’s not much fun! However, as Hebrews tells us, the training God puts us through always bears good fruit, so I am to be grateful. (Hebrews 12:11) I am to welcome trials, knowing that God always has my good in mind. (1 Peter 1:6-9 and several more)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your hand in so many aspects of this trip. Thank You also for the frustrations, particularly in the area of electronic communication. We don’t see Your purpose in that yet, so it is particularly pointed in training us in faith. Thank You for all the human interactions we are having, even when those are less than smooth. May we be Your agents to everyone today, however they respond to us, so that Your good plans may be fulfilled, in their lives and ours, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!