March 10: Are You Asking for It?

John 2-3

Jesus Turns Water into Wine

Jesus Clears the Temple Courts

Nicodemus Visits Jesus at Night

The words of Jesus in John 3, especially verse 16, are some of the most recognizable and powerful in all of Scripture. Although that would be an obvious choice and necessary one for this daily blog, I will wait until tomorrow’s entry to discuss together Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3 and his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, which is part of our reading for tomorrow.

I preached a message this past Mother’s Day on the John 2 passage, so the first part of this blog entry may sound a bit familiar to the Christian Assembly family who might still remember the main point of that message. That Mother’s Day message emphasized the role Mary played in her son’s life at two important events: when he was 12 at the Temple and at his first miracle in Cana.

The first recorded words of Jesus are found there at the Temple when as a young boy he responded to his concerned and anxious mother: “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49 NKJV); and then in Cana at the wedding party, as that same mother expected him to somehow remedy the solution of the running out of wine, the grown Son responded with these words: “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.” (John 2:4 NIV)

So the twelve-year-old Jesus was ready to move forward, ready to fulfill what the Father had called him to do, while the thirty-year-old Jesus seemed reluctant for whatever reason. But in both instances, he obeyed his mother! As a boy at the Temple he left the amazed teachers and went home because Mary knew he needed to go home. As a man at the wedding party he intercedes and miraculously converts water into wine because Mary asked him to help.

I know the mother/son relationship is strong, and usually a mother has the ability to influence her children in a special way – the same seemed to be true for Mary. But I am certain that in some small way, we can have a similar effect on God. During these 40 days, as we seek the FULLER LIFE, we should not be reluctant to ask our Lord Jesus for those things that will make our lives abundant ones.

The very Son of God was pushed into action because someone needed him and continued to ask him for help. Maybe it’s time we started faithfully asking and sincerely expecting more from the Lord for our own lives. Consider the words of James, the writer of the epistle that bears his name and the actual brother of Jesus: “You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it.” (James 4:2)