new wine calls for new wineskins

Scripture: Mark 2:17–Healthy people don’t need a doctor–sick people do.  I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.

Observation: Jesus got slammed by the religious leaders of the day for hanging out with disreputable people.  They didn’t get why he operated the way he did.  But Jesus knew his purpose.  He was here to help those who were aware of their need.  He wasn’t trying to convince the religious people of their sin; he came to call those who knew that they had fallen short back to God.  He went on to talk about the need for new wineskins.  Old wineskins weren’t suitable for holding new wine.  If Jesus was going to see something new happen, he needed a new way of approaching life and ministry.  He built relationships with people who were marked as outsiders by the religious leaders.  He invited them to follow him, to hang around, to be his friends.

Application: I posted about this on my blog last month while reading the parallel passage in Luke’s gospel.  The challenge for me is CHANGE.  If I am going to see Kingdom change in my life/neighborhood/church, then I have to be willing to change.  My old ways of doing things are going to continue to produce the same results that they always have.  If I want different results, I have to embrace a new way of operating.  That introduces fear, risk, possible failure, misunderstanding…all things that are not high on my “Things I Like” list.  There is a cost that accompanies change; but there’s a cost that comes with missing the change, as well.  The bottom line for me is this: I don’t want to miss what God has for me, my family, and my community.  It may not be comfortable or easy.  It will come with consequences and sacrifice.  But I want to be part of what God is doing now.

Prayer: Father, help me to keep in step with your Spirit.  I want to be full of faith and the Spirit, to join you where you are at work.  Help me to trust you, to hear your voice, to follow you with conviction and courage.  I realize that New is not the enemy of Old.  New doesn’t discount the value of Old.  I believe that your heart is still for those who are separated from you.  Please reveal our sin to us.  Help us to recognize our need for a Savior.  Help me to embrace the New, to find ways to build relationships with those who need to know that you love them.  Help me to be a friend like Jesus.