While teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Tony Campolo once turned an ordinary lecture into an unforgettable lesson. He asked an unsuspecting student sitting in the front row, “Young man, how long have you lived?” The student answered his age. Tony responded, “No, no, no. That's how long your heart has been pumping blood. That's not how long you have lived.”
Tony Campolo then told the class about one of the most memorable moments of his life. In 1944, his fourth-grade class took a field trip to the top of the Empire State Building. It was the tallest building in the world at the time. When nine-year-old Tony got off the elevator and stepped onto the observation deck overlooking New York City, time stood still. He said, “In one mystical, magical moment I took in the city. If I live a million years, that moment will still be part of my consciousness, because I was fully alive when I lived it.”
Tony turned back to the student. “Now, let me ask you the question again. How long have you lived?”
The student sheepishly said, “When you say it that way, maybe an hour; maybe a minute; maybe two minutes.”
According to psychologists Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert, the average person spends 46.9 percent of their time thinking about something other than what they're doing in the present moment. We're half-present half the time, which means we're half-alive (Mark Batterson, Win the Day: 7 Daily Habits to Help You Stress Less & Accomplish More, Multnomah Press, 2020, page xiii-xiv).
Do you want to be fully alive? Then I invite you to turn with me to the Gospel of John 2, John 2, where the Bible shows us how to be fully alive in a relationship with Jesus.
John 2:1-2 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples (ESV).
Do you want to be fully alive. Then…
INVITE JESUS INTO YOUR LIFE.
Ask Him into your home. Welcome Him to the party.
In a large church office, whoever drank the last cup of coffee often failed to replenish the pot for the next person. Trying to motivate the staff to be more responsible, the secretary taped a neatly typed plea to the pot: “If Jesus drank the last cup of coffee, what would he have done? Go thou and do likewise.”
The next morning, she found this scrawled response: “Jesus would have turned the water into wine instead of coffee” (Mae H. Fortson, Black Mountain, North Carolina, “Lite Fare,” Christian Reader, 1998).
What do YOU think Jesus would have done? What do you think Jesus would do if you invited him to your office or school? What do you think Jesus would do if you invited him to your home or party?
Some people fear Jesus would try to turn their party into a prayer meeting and ruin all the fun. Is that what He does here at this wedding party? Let’s see!
John 2:3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine” (ESV).
Disaster strikes! They run out of wine! Now, wedding parties in Jesus’ day usually lasted seven days. And custom dictated that the host provide plenty of food and drink for all the guests that entire week. In fact, to run out of wine would greatly embarrass the host and bring such shame that he could never live it down.
So Mary, Jesus’ mother, brings it to His attention. No doubt, she is assisting the host and wants Jesus to take care of the problem. She is not expecting a miracle, because Jesus had not yet performed any miracles. Perhaps, she just wants Jesus to go out and buy more wine or borrow some from the neighbors. Whatever the case, Mary brings the embarrassing problem to Jesus’ attention, and Jesus gives her a strange answer, at least it’s strange to our ears.
John 2:4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come” (ESV).
Now, if I said something like that to my mother, she’d wash my mouth out with soap. But in Jesus’ day, to address your mother as “Woman” showed great respect. He doesn’t belittle her request. On the contrary, He honors her for making it, but He tells her His hour has not yet come.
Now, what hour is He talking about? Well, in John 7:30, John says the Jewish leaders tried to arrest Him, but they could not, because “His hour had not yet come. Then again in John 8:20, John says, “No one arrested Him, because His hour had not yet come.” However, on the eve of his arrest and crucifixion, John says, “his hour had come to depart out of this world (John 13:1). Jesus was speaking about the hour of his crucifixion and death.
In fact, the only other time Jesus addresses his mother as “Woman” is from the cross when he says, “Woman, behold your son” (John 19:26). Jesus was telling her that John, the author of this Gospel, would take care of her in His absence. Jesus’ words here point to the cross, where Jesus would bear our shame to take it away from us. In this context, Jesus is about to remove the shame the host would feel for running out of wine.
All Mary had to do was ask, and that’s all you need to do. If you want to eliminate the shame in your life and be fully alive, just…
TURN TO JESUS FOR HELP.
Ask anything of Christ. Request assistance from the Lord.
Tim Quinn from Holland, Michigan, was stumped. His old Macintosh laptop would not run his Mac Bible software anymore. Though he had worked with it for hours, nothing he did would help. His wife suggested that he call the owners of the software for help, but no, Tim said, “I knew what I was doing.”
Then, after having exhausted every last idea, Tim gave in and called the Mac Bible corporation. A friendly voice gave him a number to call and assured him that that person would know exactly what to do. Tim wasn't convinced, but he called the man anyway.
The name sounded familiar, and he soon learned why. The person on the other end of the line was none other than the man who wrote the Mac Bible software. He gave Tim a brief set of instructions. Tim took them down and hung up the phone. In minutes, his computer software program was up and running. He just had to go to the man who wrote the program (Tim Quinn, Holland, Michigan; www.PreachingToday.com).
All too often, people try to work out their problems on their own. Then, finally, when all else has failed, they go to the One who designed them. Please, don’t wait to turn to Jesus for help. Instead, call on Him today and get all the help you need.
If you want to be fully alive, 1st, invite Jesus into your life, 2nd, turn to Him for help—just ask anything of Jesus. And 3rd…
DO WHATEVER JESUS TELLS YOU.
Yield everything to Him. Submit completely to Christ. That’s what Mary told the servants to do at the wedding party.
John 2:5-6 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons (ESV).
The Jewish rites of purification required that everyone wash their hands before and after meals (Mark 7:1ff; Matthew 15:1-2). Well, people used these 20–30-gallon jars for that purpose. They sat outside the house; and before and after each meal, people went outside to wash their hands in the jars.
John 2:7-8 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it (ESV).
They took dirty wash water to the best man at the wedding! It’s unthinkable, but that’s what Jesus told them to do, so they did it. They did whatever Jesus told them to do even though it surpassed any credulity. And that’s what you must do if you want to be fully alive. Just do whatever Jesus tells you.
Rod Dreher in his book The Benedict Option, tells the true story of a couple in suburban Washington, D.C. They approached their pastor, asking him to help their college student daughter, who felt a calling to be an overseas missionary.
“That's wonderful!” said the pastor.
“Oh no, you misunderstand,” said the parents. “We want you to help us talk her out of ruining her life” (Rod Dreher, The Benedict Option, Sentinel, 2017, page 192; www.PreachingToday. com).
They thought obedience to God’s call would wreck their daughter's life. On the contrary, obedience to God enriches your life.
Tim Keller tells a story about one of his mentors, a college professor named Dr. Addison Leach.
Two young women at the college were both bright and their respective parents wanted them to get master’s degrees and go on to careers. But, instead, they both became Christians. Both decided that they were going to become missionaries.
Their parents had a fit. One of the mothers called Dr. Leach, thinking that Dr. Leach was one of the reasons that the girls had become (in the mother’s words) “religious fanatics, rather than pursuing the course they had hoped, getting a career and having security. Instead, they were going to go wildly off into the blue.”
This mother said, “We wanted our daughter to get a master’s degree, start a career, and get something in the bank, so she could have some security.” Dr. Leach responded:
Please just let me remind you of something. We’re all on a little ball of rock called earth, and we’re spinning along through space at zillions of miles per hour. Even if we don’t run into anything, eventually we’re all going to die. Which means that under every single one of us there’s a trap door that’s going to open one day and we’re all going to fall off this ball of rock. And underneath will either be the everlasting arms of God or absolutely nothing. So maybe we can get a master’s degree to get some security.
“But the biggest savings account in the world cannot stop cancer. It can’t stop traffic accidents. It cannot stop broken hearts. It can’t give you anything … any of the things that only God can give you. He’s the only significance you can have. He’s the only love that you can get and can’t lose” (Timothy J. Keller. A Vision for a Gospel-Centered Life, Apple Books; www.PreachingToday.com).
A loving relationship with Christ provides the best security anyone could ever have. It’s a relationship of unquestioning obedience, based on His love for us. In other words, we don’t obey Him to earn His love, no. We obey Him, because He already loves us. It’s not something we HAVE to do. It’s something we WANT to do, because we love Him for loving us so much!
Now, God may not be calling you to be an overseas missionary. But He calls every believer to do extraordinary things, like “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
Like giving dirty wash water to the best man at a wedding, the request surpasses any credulity, but you do it anyway just because Jesus, the lover of your soul, told you to do it.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was the older of the two brothers, who set their bombs off at the Boston Marathon ten years ago (April 15, 2013). He was the one who died in the process of the police chase afterward. Later on, no cemetery was willing to accept Tamerlan's body for burial. No-one wanted his body buried in their town.
Martha Mullen, a Christian, felt a conviction to respond. As reported on National Public Radio, Martha began researching and contacting Islamic funeral services, eventually locating a Muslim cemetery in Doswell, Virginia that would accept Tamerlein's body.
NPR reporter Audie Cornish asked Martha, a total stranger to the Tsarnaev family, why she chose to get involved at all, especially given the risk that she might, herself, be targeted by angry protestors.
Martha answered, “It made me think of Jesus' words, ‘Love your enemies.’ I felt that… [Tamerlan] was being maligned probably because he was Muslim, and Jesus tells us to, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ and your neighbor is not just someone who you get along with but someone who is alien to you… if I'm going to live my faith then I'm going to do that which is uncomfortable and not necessarily what's comfortable… I feel like it was the right thing and it's important to be true to the principles of your faith” (Audie Cornish, “All Things Considered,” National Public Radio, 5-10-13; www.PreachingToday.com).
She loved Jesus enough to do the hard thing He asked of her. What is He asking you to do? What enemy is He asking you to love?
If you want to be fully alive, 1st, invite Jesus into your life, 2nd, turn to Him for help, and 3rd, do whatever he tells you to do. Then…
HAVE A GOOD TIME!
Enjoy the party and experience His rich provision. That’s what the guests at the wedding party did.
John 2:9-10 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now” (ESV).
Jesus provided the best wine they had all week, and not just a little bit. He provided 120 to 180 gallons of it! He not only saved the host from major embarrassment. He was the life of the party, providing joy to everyone around Him.
So what would Jesus do if you invited Him to your party? He’d probably spike the punch, especially if there were some legalistic teetotalers around.
Jesus said, “The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that [my sheep] may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
John 2:11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him (ESV).
This is the first of seven miracles John records in his gospel. Contrast that with Moses’ first miracle. When Moses confronted Pharaoh, he turned water into blood and judgment came (Exodus 7:20-21). Here, in Jesus’ first miracle, He turns water into wine and joy comes.
In fact, Jesus bring joy to every occasion in which He participates. Later, He attends a funeral and raises the corpse (Luke 7:11-15; John 11:43-44). Here, He attends a wedding and provides the wine, better than any wine others provide.
That’s the difference between law and grace. John 1 says, “The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). The law condemns; Jesus celebrates with His people.
Tony Campolo talks about taking his son to Disneyland when the boy was just a small tike. As they were leaving, his boy said, “I want another ride on Space Mountain.”
Tony said, “Wait a minute. I’m out of money, and I’m out of time.”
To which his boy replied, “Jesus wants me to go.”
Tony told him, “I’m not reading you.”
His boy replied, “When you were in church, you said whatever we feel Jesus feels it. When we cry, he cries. You said Jesus feels every emotion we have.”
Tony said, “That’s right.”
His boy exclaimed, “If he feels very emotion I have, then when I’m laughing on Space Mountain, He’s having a good time, too. I think He would enjoy it if I had another ride on Space Mountain” (Tony Campolo, “If I should Wake before I Die,” Preaching Today, Tape No.124).
That boy is right! Jesus enjoys a good time, and He wants to enjoy it with you and me. So, go ahead and invite Him to your party. Go ahead and invite Him into your life. He will not ruin it. On the contrary, He’ll spike it up with joy! Try it like the young couple here in John 1.
If you want to be fully alive, invite Jesus into your life, turn to Him for help, and do whatever he tells you to do. Then have a good time!
I cannot guarantee He’ll take away all your problems. But I can guarantee you’ll enjoy your life with Him a whole lot more than without Him.
The movie Braveheart tells the story of William Wallace, who led Scotland to freedom from English rule.
At the end of the movie, Wallace has been betrayed to the English and sits in prison awaiting execution. The Princess of Wales, who wants to free him, comes to his cell. Take a look (show videoclip: Braveheart—Every man dies; not every man really lives, www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzCJP9kEF6M).
She asks if there is any way he could recant his rebellion to save his life. Submitting to the English king would spare him torture and death.
Wallace sees clearly what is at stake, and he stands his ground without shame.
The princess says, "I come to beg you to confess all and swear allegiance to the king so that he may show you mercy."
Wallace says, "If I swear to him, all that I am is dead already."
Weeping, the princess says, "You will die. It will be awful."
Wallace replies, "Every man dies. Not every man really lives." (Braveheart, 20th Century Fox, 1995, written by Randall Wallace, directed by Mel Gibson, 2:31:40 to 2:32:53, scene 18 on DVD; www.PreachingToday.com).
My dear friends, if you want to really live, invite Christ into your life and let Him take control.
