By Jon Walker
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins. Mark 2:22 (NIV)
A few miles from my house, there’s a gas station/convenience store that just went through a “make-over,” changing their utilitarian look into a warm and inviting neighborhood haven. The new look suggests something like a Star-coffee store with gas pumps.
When I walked into the place, however, it appeared the employees may have missed the make-over memo. The kid behind the counter wore a new uniform that matched the new warm and inviting look outside, but he also wore the same sullen look I’d seen him wearing before, perhaps a little bored and a bit put out that an actual customer had walked in the store to disturb his sedentary productivity.
It set me to thinking about how we try to put new wine into old wineskins. Jesus says we’re doomed to failure because “the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined.” (Mark 2:22 NIV)
Over the years, I’ve been in a lot of church meetings and ministry settings where the image of new wineskins flows as freely as Kool-Aid at Vacation Bible School. But where we tend to apply the concept is with church structure, discussing the “new wineskins” of programs, plans, and priorities.
But I rarely hear the concept of new wineskins applied to a life, as in your life or my life. Don’t we often try to put new wine into old wineskins when it comes to our Christian walk? What I mean is this: A new wine of “honesty at work” poured into an old wineskin of “cutting corners.”
The point is this: God pours the new wine of the Holy Spirit into the new wineskin of our new-creation lives, and that sets us steady on our kingdom walk. But we often reach into the discard pile and pull out our old wineskin, trying to make it work as part of our new life in Christ.
Consider this:
- The new wine of unconditional love poured into the old wineskin of hatred for the family two doors down, who appear to be going out of their way to destroy the tranquility of your neighborhood.
- The new wine of worship poured into the old wineskin of idolatry (as in worshipping something other than God: Money? Power? Music? The latest video game?).
- The new wine of Bible study and prayer poured into the old wineskin of gotta-go-pop-tart-for-breakfast busyness.
- The new wine of humility poured into the old wineskin of conceit. What would that look like?
- The new wine of forgiveness poured into the old wineskin of bitterness.
- The new wine of “others first” poured into the old wineskin of selfish ambition.
- The new wine of joy poured into the old wineskin of jealousy and factions.
- The new wine of peace poured into the old wineskin of discord.
- The new wine of dependence on God poured into the old wineskin of independence.
After years of living in the old wineskin, we’ve gotten so used to living with certain habits and patterns – sins – that it’s difficult to toss them off as we shroud ourselves in God’s new wineskin. Corrie Ten Boom calls this falling into old habits “echoes from the past.” We are new creations in Christ, and we are no longer defined by our old wineskins; we are now defined by our connection with Christ.
What does this mean?
- Old wineskins? – What old wineskins do you continue to use? Perhaps you pull them out in a crisis. Perhaps you use them throughout the day – almost every day. Which “old wineskin” will you stop using this week?
- Look above – Look at the list above and see if any of those scenarios echo into your life. If so, lift that conflict to Jesus and ask him to guide you as you abandon the old wineskins to become the strong, new, clean vessel for which Christ died.
- Rip at the seams – In this same passage, Jesus speaks of how new “unshrunk” cloth will eventually tear away if used to patch an old garment: “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse.” (Mark 2:21 NIV) You know what it’s like to have an embarrassing rip at the seams of your clothing. Can you imagine what we look like spiritually when such a rip occurs in our relationship with Christ?
- Pray at the mini-mart – Next time you walk into a mini-mart, offer a prayer for the people behind the cash register. And, for your own walk, remember the importance of pouring new wine into new wineskins.
Jon Walker is resident writer at www.GraceCreates.com, and the former writer/editor for the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.