Fill 'er Up

Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. (v. 7)

Imagine that you were one of those servants. You had just heard a stranger say to fill all those big water jugs to the brim. Hauling water in ancient Israel was an exhausting job. Filling huge jars from a hand-dug well took a lot of work. It would have been tempting to send one guy for half a jar and see what Jesus intended to do with it. They had never met Jesus. They had no idea what he could do. But they obeyed anyway. The Bible makes a point of telling us that the servants "filled them to the brim." And it’s a good thing, because Jesus never honors half-hearted compliance. He's all or nothing.

 

Faith is all or nothing too. Faith has no idea how this is going to turn out, but obeys anyway. Faith keeps its gaze trained upon the character of God, and then fills it to the brim. However, too often we withhold from God because we’re not sure about His methods. We know His commands, but obey halfway to see how it will turn out. We withhold our tithes and offerings for fear God won't provide. We withhold time and effort for fear it won't be rewarded. We withhold parts of our lives for fear we won't be in control, and our hearts for fear we’re not worthy. Jesus won’t do anything with half a jar of compromise. He is all or nothing.

 Are you filling your jars to the brim or are you withholding? Whatever you withhold will miss God’s miracles.

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