An awesome God of super-abundance
One of the things that has struck me from my study of various areas of science over the years is the sheer abundance in any aspect of the world you want to look at. For me, it begins with astronomy—the study of the overwhelming vastness of space, and stars and planets in such numbers that my mind goes numb and shuts off. But it leads to a sense of awe before the One who created it all. When I look up at the night sky in a dark place on a clear night, I want to take my shoes off because, like Moses at the burning bush, I feel that I am standing on sacred ground. If this is the creation, then can you imagine the Creator?
I begin with astronomy, but it’s true in every branch of science and in every aspect of nature. We are surrounded by a superabundance, a creation on steroids, a creation on overdrive. Consider the following, which you can get simply by asking the questions of your computer’s search engine:
- Number of stars in the Milky Way
400 billion
- Number of species of birds
10,000
- Number of types of flowers
400,000
- Number of species of fish
35,000
- Number of species of insects
950,000
- Number of species of animals
1.5 million, and counting
10,000 new species discovered each year
Now what got me started on all this is doing the math about Jesus’ intervention at the wedding at Cana:
- Number of gallons of water turned into wine
120-180 gallons
It must have been quite a wedding!
Jesus gave super-abundantly to let us know that that’s how God is.
This passage about the wedding at Cana reveals some interesting aspects of what Jesus did for the couple and their guests there and then, and what he’s doing for us here and now:
- Jesus changes his plans in response to the situation. He tries to make clear to his mother that he’s not prepared to begin his public ministry. “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” But Mary tells the servants to do whatever Jesus says. And then he takes action. Perhaps Jesus did not intend to start his ministry there, but disaster loomed, and was averted.
- Jesus improved their life without the couple knowing it. In the other signs he performs, Jesus engages in dialog either before or after to make clear what is happening. But here he performed this sign without drawing attention to himself. He doesn’t say, “Everybody look at me!” He acts without telling the bride and groom anything. I wonder how many things Jesus does in our lives that we’re simply not aware of.
- He became involved in the everyday. The ordinary events of our lives matter and God is actively involved in our afternoon barbecues, special dinners with friends, birthday parties and wedding anniversaries. Think of how many times Jesus accepted invitations to meals, and then did some of his most important teaching there.
- And Jesus reveals the God of abundance. The first sign Jesus performed wasn’t to teach, or even to change anyone. It was simply to make sure some people had a good time and avoided the embarrassment of wine running out. Considering all the family and fun events we’ve had to do without the past couple of years, it’s good to know Jesus desires us to be well and whole.
They say that, before the Bible was written, there was sort of a first “Bible” that reveals a lot about God: the universe God created. And so, I invite you to try reading from this vast “Bible”. Go out into nature, look at a beautiful sunset, look up at the sky on a clear night, notice the variety of birds, examine the delicate beauty of Monarch butterflies when they come back, stop and smell the roses. And if you like numbers, keep the numbers I shared with you handy: the hugely incredible numbers of stars, birds, flowers, fish, insects, animals, and the number of gallons of water Jesus turned into wine. Let those numbers sink in. We have a super-abundant creation. And we have an awesome God!