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” (Luke 5:37-38).
I made some decisions this week about some things that I want to accomplish in the next few years. These are not new goals. Instead, they are old goals that I have yet to realize. For years these items have been on my list but I have allowed circumstances and situations to derail me. Just as I made up my mind to follow through on the first of this list, a situation popped up. I began to allow myself to get distracted and in just a few minutes I had begun to talk myself out of following through. In just a short time, I had already retracted my plans and was convinced that this new situation would not allow me to finish this goal. I sat alone, disappointed.
As I was talking with the Lord, later on, I realized that I was just following my Modus operandi. For my entire life, my MO had been to allow circumstance and situation to hinder my progress. It is now or never to make a commitment to following through. I realized I was trying to put new wine in old wineskins. So, I read up on that particular parable, looking for wisdom.
The parable of the new wine in old wine skin is recorded in three of the gospels. Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22 and Luke 5:33-39. Because it is mentioned three times by three separate writers, I think there is definitely a lesson just waiting to be learned.
The parable was spoken by Jesus to rebuke the accusations of the Pharisees, that he and his disciples were not as pious as the Pharisees. Jesus was anything but conventional. He ate with tax collectors and sinners. Spoke to women and lepers and according to these Pharisees, he was not fasting enough. Unfortunately, these men that had devoted their lives to being scholars and experts on scripture and God, just could not get past what they thought was Jesus’ flagrant disregard for the laws. The legalistic approach was all they knew. If the Pharisees were going to be able to embrace Jesus as Savior they would have to let go of the legalistic way they viewed their relationship with God. They were so inundated by rules and laws they had lost the relationship. Jesus was offering freedom from the legalism and a relationship of grace and love. Unfortunately, they were unable to relinquish their old ways of thinking. Jesus never broke the laws, he just followed them as they were intended. Not with only legalistic focus but with love.
I cannot continue to use my old way of thinking to accomplish my plans. Obviously, my old mindset has not worked. If I am going to do something new, I need to renew my thinking. I do not want to miss out on realizing these goals because I am unable to change my MO. I got my new “wineskin” and I followed through on the first step to completing my goal.
Do not allow yourself to miss out on God’s gift of love and redemption because of old ways of thinking. Do not be denied realizing a desire or a dream. If they are not working out or coming to fruition, then examine your MO.
Get a new wineskin and get ready to make new wine.
Typist for Jesus
Mustard Seeds, Modern Parables 