best wine from sour wine

In the first of Jesus' miraculous signs in the Gospel of John, He makes wine out of water, causing the steward to remark to the wedding host that the best wine had been served at the end of the event (John 2:10).  As I consider the struggles in me and around me, I claim Jesus' Offer of His new and better wine when prior tastes of life might have been bland, or basic, or bitter.  And I have seen this Offer come across over and over and over again, for me and for those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

But then I remember the cost for Jesus, in that dreadful "cup" that He tasted, that sour wine of suffering on the cross for my sin and for that of the whole world from beginning to end.  The sourness of my life which He took upon Himself has been transformed into the sweet wine that I have received of Him.  

And when I think further, I note that its sweetness if often in proportion to the sour wine which I have tasted in the sufferings of my life, which, perhaps in some small way, fill up what may be lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of His Body, which is the church (Colossians 1:24).  I have come to know, as perhaps have you, that, in Him, suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope; and hope does not disappoint us, because God's Love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us (Romans 5:3-5).

So, dear praying friends, as I pray for you, and as you pray for me and for others, may we ask for that best wine in that Spirit, but also for the grace to taste the sour wine, as did Jesus, trusting that He and His Father can change it from bitter to sweet, at the end of His choosing.