Poured out Like Wine

You and I are dying. From the moment we are born, we are dying. Every second we create more of our past. More decisions, more breathing, more love and more loathing. All of it slides by into the never-never as we race to grab more moments, more memories more of what is already fading.

Our lives are a book being written in time, one moment at a time; a time we cannot get back. And they are being written once and for all time.

What led to you? You did not choose to be you. You did not choose your birth and you did not choose to place yourself in this time, in this place, in this world.

Clearly, we are not the author of this story called ‘life’. We are its characters. We are created, breathed into existence by the Author, and we are wanted and welcomed by Him. No, you did not choose the time and place of your entry onto this stage, but you can choose where to put your foot next.

Jesus once said, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and yet loses his soul? The answer is, he gains nothing.

Jesus’ words are a reminder that there are some gains not worth gaining if the story ends with the loss of everything. But more than this, His words are a reminder that we are being poured out. Because we are dying, we are in fact being emptied.

This is the way the world works. You pour yourself out in the hope of being filled.

You pour yourself into work in order to earn a living. The athlete on the field empties himself of all strength to win the race. A mother pours her life into her children in order to give life to a multitude of generations to come.

It works this way because the Author works this way and has poured Himself out for us.

but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men… (Philippians 2:7)

And having emptied Himself for our salvation, He then poured out His Spirit for our transformation.

The one who seeks to hoard, conserve, grasp, retain and withhold in order to gain the world, ends up losing everything. It is simply taken away by death, and his soul lies buried and lost beneath the rubble.

The way of eternal life, the way of ultimate gain is, and always has been, the way of the cross.

You were designed to pour yourself out. It’s what you were made for. It’s you living to the full in the likeness of Christ your Saviour.

In the end, the question is not so much whether you will pour yourself out or not. You will. It’s all you can do as someone who was created in the image and likeness of God.

The question is, what will you pour yourself out for? What will you pour yourself in to?

For joy, Jesus poured Himself out like wine for others – and thereby gained everything. It’s a high calling. Are you up to the challenge?

But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:5-7)

What if I told you that you only have a few more moments left on stage. Would you, for the sake of ultimate gain, have the courage to joyfully pour yourself out for the people around you?