John 2:1-5 : And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

This is a very interesting exchange. Jesus and His disciples have been invited to a wedding, and for some reason, there wasn’t any wine. I’m pretty sure that Mary knew that Jesus didn’t have any jugs of wine available when she asked Him to do something about it. It appears that she was asking Him to do something miraculous at the wedding.

Jesus knew that now was not the time for Him to do what she was asking. I don’t really know what it was that she was asking, but Jesus knew. I believe that Mary may have been acting out of line with what God wanted at that time. In a sense, she was not believing in God’s timing. Jesus did, however, honor His earthly mother even though her actions may have been unbelieving ones. This gives us an example of how to give honor and respect to those who we owe honor and respect to, even when they are not believing. We should honor them, but we are to always do what God wants us to do. In this case, Jesus figures out a way to quietly obey His earthly mother. It isn’t clear to me what Mary was asking. Perhaps Mary was expecting her son to get popular starting at that time. Maybe she thought it would be good advertising for the new Rabbi, whatever it was, Jesus knew that He couldn’t actually do it now.

I have found this to be a problem for me in many of my relationships with those who are not being faithful yet have some kind of authority over me. Sometimes, I am not able to reconcile the two and am forced to go with God alone. These times are difficult, but they prove whose side we are on; God’s or man’s.

It is important for us to remember that it is our spiritual family that is the most important:

Matthew 12:46-50 : While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Now Jesus may have still gone out after saying this to talk with his birth mother and brothers. The story isn’t clear at that point, but the message here is clear. The family of God is more important than our earthly families. It isn’t that we have permission to not care for our earthly families, it is just that we must do what God has told us to do first and one of those things is to take care of our earthly family’s needs and not merely their desires that conflict with the will of God. We also should respect those that God has put in authority as much as we are able under God.