He Is The New Wine
October 22nd, 2011How many of you can still reach down and touch your toes? Can you bend over backwards? It’s called flexibility and it’s something [let’s say] we once possessed more of than we do today! That’s okay, while our bodies may not be quite as flexible as they once were, what about our minds? I think Jesus expects us to demonstrate a certain amount of flexibility in our thinking and in our attitudes because…
Jesus is always an agent of change!
In the 5th chapter of the Book of Luke, Jesus meets up with a man named Levi [better known as Matthew] and asks him to follow him – which Levi/Matthew does without hesitation. What’s interesting is…
- Levi is a despised Tax Collector
- Levi is so excited, he throws a party & invites Jesus as well as his not-so-holy Tax collector friends
Speaking of not-so-holy, some religious leaders show up & complain to Jesus asking, “Why do you eat & drink with scum like this?” Jesus answered, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor, sick people do. I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins, not spend my time with those who think they are already good enough!’
Jesus was more concerned about “lost” people than he was about religious rules, and felt he needed to spend time with them!
- Shouldn’t we also be building relationships with those who aren’t religious?’
- Isn’t that being about our Father’s business..?
He shares with them a parable about wine & wineskins. In other words, he used word pictures to communicate! {he was good at that} What he was trying to say is that..
He Is The New Wine!
Religious people have been trying to fit Jesus into their molds for centuries! In Jesus day, people had their own views of what the Messiah should be like, but Jesus didn’t fit! Ultimately, they killed him for it! Do we try to fit Jesus into our little boxes? He won’t be defined by any of our traditions or rituals! He is fresh & new every day! So..
Let’s not be content with the old! Be open to new methods of communicating an old message!
We must remain flexible! Our world continues to change – we have to be willing to change with it [not our message, but perhaps our methods]
Let’s Stay Fresh! Don’t allow your relationship with Christ to become stale. Find ways to keep fresh. Pour new wine into new wineskins!
Think about it…