[Jesus] told them this parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.‘" – Luke 5:36-39
Jesus’ point to the religious leaders that were questioning Him was that they could not continue to embrace the old, or they would miss the new. The two just don’t mix.
I think the same is true with us today: we try to enjoy the new without getting rid of the old…and the two don’t mix! When we try to mix them, three things happen:
- The old is ruined.
- The new is ruined.
- Our tastes are ruined.
If I’m honest, I like the old. New things can be disturbing and uncomfortable and tiring. The old is comfortable and easy. It takes less effort and produces predictable results. But it is those predictable results that are the problem. While the old seems so much better to me, the predictable results that come from it are not the best. As long as I’m satisfied with the old, as long as I maintain a taste for the old, I’ll never fully embrace the new. I’ll never be able to live the significant life God has in store for me. The old will be good enough!
So what is the answer? We must follow Jesus’ simple instructions in Luke 5:38 — new wine must be poured into new wineskins. We must get rid of the old before we can successfully pursue the new.
What is that old thing you need to get rid of? What old, dry, cracked wineskin are you trying to pour new wine into?
For some, it might be that you have never really surrendered your life to Him. You’ve never driven a stake into the ground and said to God “from this day forward, I commit to following You with everything I have. I admit my sins, believe that Jesus came, lived and died as the perfect sacrifice for those sins, and I ask you to forgive them. I commit to following Jesus the best way I know how from this day on”.
For others, it is a life-long addiction to something other than God. Maybe you’re hooked on money, drugs, sex, the approval of others, another person, or the media.
Some are stuck in old wineskins because of your past. Maybe your childhood was painful beyond description, or maybe the guilt over your past failures has made you believe you don’t have the ability, or even the right, to succeed now. Maybe it is your success that has kept you from God.
Maybe anger or laziness or complacency or pride or false humility is the culprit. What is that personality trait you have lived with your whole life that has made you dried and cracked like an old wineskin.
Not sure what it is? Ask God to show it to you:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. – Psalm 139:23-24
After He has shown it to you, get rid of it. Give it to God and be done with it!
…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith… – Hebrews 12:1-2
Once you shed the old, you’ll need help to find and enjoy the new. If you try to pursue the new on your own, your chances for success are minimal. But if you can find someone to walk the path with you, your chances go WAY up! Check out the Life Groups and D-Groups pages on this blog for some ways you can get connected.
You also need to figure out a way to spend regular time in the Bible. Though I can’t explain it, I can promise you that time spent in it will change you from the inside out! If you aren’t sure where to be begin, check out some of the resources on this blog, or contact me anytime.
