New wineskins

  The idea presented by Jesus, we should not put new wine into old wineskins, got me thinking a bit today.

  What is a practical example of an old wineskin. Could it be a reference to the religious people of that time. Perhaps the modern day religious people could be referenced. You know the type.

  If God tried to pour His spirit into those old wineskins, what would happen? New wine is alive. The fermentation process is actually yeast growing and living in the wine. While the wine is fermenting it releases gas. Yeast farts. Yummie huh? This gas will expand. If you are using an old wineskin it would burst. The old wineskin is dry and not flexible. The old skin does not have the capacity to change.

  So what about the religious people of Christ's time made the old wineskins? They are similar to many groups we find today. They obey the law of Moses, they faithfully attend church, they set themselves apart, and they have a form of godliness. These can be good things. However, these things only appear holy if God isn't in them.

  The trouble comes, frankly, when The Spirit comes. His Spirit wants to consume us. It wants to penetrate every fiber of our being. This process is painful and often takes time. During this process we may desire to be like our old selves. If we were actively sinning or pretending to be holy, we might want to return to our old life of sin. If we were religious, we might want to go back to those sacraments that we find comfortable. That is why God's Spirit can't be poured into an old skin.

  We must become new. We don't have the ability to cast off our old selves. Those bodies had already been used. When we repent of our sins, trust in the payment made by Jesus, God transforms us. We become new wineskins. God did it, not our works.

  Us, as new wineskins, can have times of stretching and pain. We may feel we could burst at any moment. But, because we are new creatures, God promised that we would not break.

  If you are a new creature, then celebrate the changes! To be of service to The King is a high honor. He has taken a fithy, wretched, and lifeless person and remade them. Allow Him to fill you up! Drink deeply from the wellspring of life.

  If you are concerned that you might not be a new wineskin, please consider the following: God made you, loves you, and cares about you. Your sins have torn you away from Him. If you say you have no sin you are deceiving yourself. You can become a better person but you will be in further sin if you think you can be good enough to satisfy God's laws you have broken. Repent (turn from those sins). Place your trust in the payment Jesus made. If you trust Jesus, you will be made new. If you trust yourself, His spirit cannot live in you. He will not place new wine into an old wineskin.