The wine steward said, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.”    (John 2:10)

Just as Jesus saved the wedding festivities for that young couple long ago in Cana, so He can do the same in our lives with His extravagant love and grace today.

How does God want us to respond to His extravagance?

First, God wants us to trust that His love and grace will always be there for us and that it will never run out.

Second, God wants us to be extravagant ourselves. If we believe in an extravagant God while leading stingy lives, we’re a walking contradiction. How dare we live small and tight lives when we call ourselves Christian!

How does God want us to be extravagant?

God wants us to be extravagant with our love. Will doing so sometimes break our hearts? Of course, but better a broken heart than a closed-down heart.

God wants us to be extravagant with our forgiveness. Will doing so sometimes make us vulnerable to getting burned? Of course, but without extravagant forgiveness, love cannot survive.

God wants us to be extravagant in giving encouragement. Will doing so sometimes be ignored or wasted? Of course, but without extravagant encouragement, morale falters, and hopes wane.

God wants us to be extravagant with gratitude. If we aren’t constantly thanking God and others, we are, in effect, taking God and others for granted.

What more does God need to do for us to realize that the extravagant wedding in Cana of Galilee is still going on? Although we don’t know the names of the couple that once got married in Cana, I invite us to know the names of those who are getting married at God’s extended wedding.

God the Father sends out the invitations. Jesus is the Groom. We are the Bride. Because God is both the host and the steward of this extravagant party, we can trust that He will not allow the wine of His love, grace, and joy to ever run out.

Reflection Questions:

1. Do you actually trust that God is extravagant in His love and grace for you? If not, how come? If so, what difference do God’s extravagant love and grace make in your life?

2. Once we believe and accept God’s extravagant love and grace, God wants us to be extravagant with others. Are you? If not, what needs to change?

3. I’ve sometimes been more generous with others than I am with myself. Do you know this same contradiction in your own life? If so, what would help you to become more generous and kind to yourself?