Wine and Jesus
Sometimes I find it difficult to reconcile my personal enjoyment of things with my personal relationship with Jesus . There’s no question that this world is fleeting and our lives are a vapor compared to the span of eternity. Some may call it a dash between the dates, temporary housing, a layover to our next destination but the reality is that it’s both our present placement for today and our training ground for our Heavenly tomorrow. Our time here has a meaning of its own and I believe that this life is more than just a waiting game or a call to deprive ourselves of any level of personal happiness until we walk those golden streets.
We serve a generous God. While He has extended us the example of His Son so that we can understand our purpose on earth with Heaven in mind, He has also intentionally given us earthly enjoyments in order to provide a small glimpse of our future eternal home. And worship and enjoyment don’t have to be set apart from each other. In fact, they should exist in unison as long as they are ranked appropriately. Christ’s instruction should be the lens through which we find joy in the Lord’s gifts throughout this life. Jesus Himself made sacrifices but He also made wine!
Wine happens to be one of my earthly delights and it serves as a great illustration here. I love the diversity of tastes, the abundance of various notes, the smorgasbord of rich flavors, the stories behind each bottle ranging from where the grapes were grown to how the vineyard came about and why the label was chosen. I love how wine can bring my friends together for a night of much-needed girl time or how my husband and I can indulge in a glass as we celebrate an occasion. I am happy that wine exists and I thank God for the blessings of the pleasure it brings to my palate.
Now that I’ve professed my undying love for wine, I also feel the need to keep myself in check so that my gift doesn’t become my idol. It’s important to be thankful for the little enjoyments we are given. It’s also important to make sure they have a proper rank in our hearts. Wine is allowed to have a place in the ‘things I enjoy category’ while Jesus needs to dominates the ‘only One I worship’ category. When I get those things mixed up, I start worshipping the gift, not the One who gave it. This becomes a slippery slope and is often how we begin the process of taking our eyes off of God and placing them on our “wine” (you can fill in your blank with whatever your ‘thing’ is - money, time, relationships, cars, houses, careers, reputation, children, etc.).
This is a tough but imperative balance and one that I wrestle with quite a bit. My heart typically starts out in the right spot. “God, thank you for this wine. It tastes so good, it smells amazing, it brings me so much joy.” But then my focus gradually shifts as I start taking these gifts for granted and God fades into the background of my attention. “Hello wine, you beautiful glass of flavorful bliss. YOU bring me so much joy, YOU are my happiness.” Wine is just one of many God-given gifts that I juggle and struggle to keep in check (I want to note that this post is referencing things that the Bible does not explicitly forbid, there’s a laundry list of sinful stuff that does not apply here).
My point is this - there is nothing inherently wrong in taking pleasure in something God has given us for the purpose of enjoyment. In fact, He WANTS us to partake in these things as long as our priorities stay aligned and we never take our eyes off of the only One who deserves to sit on the reining throne of our lives. So eat, drink, be merry - but do it as a form of worship to a God who loves to spoil His children. You’ll put a smile on His face, too. Cheers!