Jesus & Us
Risk. There was a time, which is moving more and more into the distant past, that my small kids loved to play outside and adventure. Myself, even I can remember as a kid climbing and chasing my brother in our nearby forest and weaving through old stumps and root piles. So now as parents, we wanted to encourage this climbing, the activity, as well as stimulate the imagination – we wanted our kids to have fun!
So we found and moved this old playground set into our yard. It took a bit of elbow grease, reinforcing and replacing a few boards, sanding and re-staining. What was a bit of a precarious, dangerous eyesore, was now something that our kids and their friends could play on, and boy, did they ever over the years! I’m sure I only know a small part of the forts, the chases, the jumping, the flinging and swinging, climbing and sometimes fighting, and the chalk drawings that this playground endured over the years.
Being a follower of Jesus means that we imitate him. Jesus and his disciples had fun together often. Following our Lord and Saviour, being in a relationship with Him, isn’t meant to always be a serious or stone-faced journey.
I think to the wedding at Cana; Jesus was here in Nathaniel’s hometown celebrating! Jewish weddings were far from serious and solemn occasions, and here is Jesus and some His followers right in the thick of it. From Mary’s concern and not wanting the host to be dishonoured by running out of wine, there was some close family connection here. Going into this first century Jewish wedding, which was an event of feasting and drinking for 7 days, did Jesus know beforehand He’d be called upon to do this miracle? Or was it simply because of Mary’s intervention?
Either way, God’s power, majesty, creativity through the divinity of Jesus here, puts His stamp of approval not only on the occasion of marriage and weddings, but on His children having fun. When is the last time you had fun following Jesus? Is there a risk involved? Sure there is. There is a time, and a season and a place for everything. I love this sign posted at a lower mainland playground that a friend shared with me:
It reminds me of how our walk with Jesus should go; taking risks and playing. By making decisions, we practice and condition ourselves for making good decisions. Do we have that childlike faith, that curiousity, of not simply playing it safe from our Sunday morning seat, but a faith that makes us take risks? Jesus may have chosen this family situation to perform this miracle because it is something everyone in every culture can relate to. An ordinary setting became the showcase for His supernatural power. Perhaps that is another lesson He wants us to learn from it - He wants to do something supernatural in the everyday events of our lives as well, as we risk and play. We might not know or understand what Jesus is going to do in situations, but we can trust him to do what is right.
Blessings on your week! Pastor Dan
