In my New Year message, I encouraged us to do something for God in 2011. Then, sharing my moving ‘out-in-on’ experiences with you, I proposed that we take advantage of the new year to empty and clean our lives’ attics. This article is more or less a continuation of those two previous postings.
Matthew 9:16-17, “No one puts a piece of new cloth onto an old garment; for that which is put in to fill it up takes from the garment, and the tear is made worse. Nor do men put new wine into old wineskins; else the wineskins burst, and the wine runs out, and the wineskins perish. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved together.”
Luke 5:36-38, “And He also spoke a parable to them: No one puts a piece of a new garment on an old garment. Otherwise, both the new will tear, and the old does not match the piece from the new. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskin will perish. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved together.”
Nowadays, many are those who have never seen a patched cloth and even fewer are those who are acquainted with the secrets of the fabrication and conservation of wine. That’s why it is difficult to understand the depth of these words of Jesus without delving into the ways and customs of His time.
In those days, clothes were made of wool that shrunk when wet, tearing loose on the edges of the already weakened old fabric, and making a worse rent than before.
Moreover, the wine was not preserved in glass bottles as now, but in wineskins (bottles made of goat or sheep skin) which become tender with age and usage and would be easily ruptured. New wine put into them would ferment, and swell and burst them open, while new skins would yield to the fermenting wine, and be strong enough to hold it from bursting.
This was such a common knowledge and commonsense that Jesus said: “No one puts…” In other words, "No one in his/her right mind would do such a thing…"
The Lord uses these two examples to illustrate a deep spiritual principle. It is as foolish to combine the piety of John the Baptist and/or of the Pharisees with what He is offering, than to patch a new cloth onto an old garment: there is a certain ‘fitness’ of things (it is fit to do them in a certain proper way…).
Who knows, maybe for years, you have tried everything without success or maybe you simply want to go to a higher dimension this year? You may have taken the decision to do something for God in 2011 instead of just bringing your “shopping list” to Him? You may even be in the middle of a spiritual move-out?
Well, I have good news for you: since God looks at the heart, if yours is willing and wholly to Him, even if you haven’t requested any other thing in 2011 than the grace to do His Will, He will surprise you and shower you with His favour. Think of Solomon ; he only asked for wisdom and God gave him riches and glory on top. That’s why I boldly say that if your heart is willing and completely sold out to Him, He will not fail to surprise you and to invade your life in 2011.
Get ready to receive His liberal gifts. Take some new wineskins to receive the divine dew. New mental, moral, affective, physical, social, professional, academic, spiritual etc wineskins ; in short, just be a brand new receptacle for the manna that is about to fall down from Heaven for you. Do not try to mend your old clothes; but on the contrary, like the blind Bartimaeus on the way to Jericho, throw away your old cloak (Mark 10:50) for Jesus has some new ones to throw on you and enter in the glory of your Master!
In CHRIST JESUS Alone, for some new exploits.
God bless you!
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