Mary's Great Advice.

   When we think of getting advice we envision a long conversation at the kitchen table, listening to a parent or counselor about an important issue we are dealing with. Yet some of the greatest advice can be as simple as, "Whatever He says, do it" (John 2:5). No deep theological issues to tackle, no multiple verse discourses, not even a short sermon to sit through, just five simple words.

   After spending 31 years as a Christian and listening to countless sermons, attending numerous seminars and reading volumes of books about Christianity, Mary's advice cuts through all the clutter and exposes how simple the Christian life can be. It is our following of Jesus that matters, it is our commitment to do "whatever He says" that will be accepted as true faith, "If we obey God's commands, then we are sure that we know Him, If some one says he knows Him but does not obey His commands, such a person is a liar and there is no truth in him" (1st John 2:3-4). 

   What if the wedding servants would have ignored Mary's advice, what would have been the outcome? What if the servants would have thought, "If he is so great, let him make wine from thin air", what would have happened? It was the filling of the jars with water that was the necessary act of obedience. The wine was not payment for filling the jars, just the proper response to the command. All the best advice in the world means nothing it not taken to heart and acted upon.

   It is easy to forget how little God asks of us, we seem to expect some complex or difficult command from God. But instead the Bible states, "Everything you were taught can be put into a few words: respect and obey God. This is what life is all about." (Ecclesiastes 12:13 CEV). So let us follow the advice of Naaman the leper's servants and just obey (2nd Kings 5).