My New Wineskin

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins. Mark 2:22 NIV

In Jesus’ day, wine was transported & stored in wineskins made from animal skins. As the skins aged, they lost their elasticity. If new wine was placed in an old wineskin, the skin would burst as the wine fermented. So, new wine was always put into new wineskins.




When Jesus talked about this, He wasn’t offering home winemaking tips. He wanted His followers to understand that we need to adapt & grow when learning new ways. Jesus was teach people a whole new way to worship God, a new way to think about God. He wanted them to understand the old way of doing things wasn’t going to work anymore. They needed to expand their worldview, to change their way of thinking & doing things if they were ever going to become followers of Jesus.

Change isn’t easy. Old ways are comfortable. They’re natural. We don’t have to think when we are doing things the way we have always done them. New ways require thought. We must stop & consider every time we begin to do something. “Is this right? Is this what I’m supposed to do now?”

Although I like to think of myself as daring, I find I have become very fixed in my ways & it’s not a pretty sight. I strongly feel God’s call on my life. I am blessed because He has given me a strong vision of what my life might be if I am willing to step up & answer that call. So, you ask, what’s stopping you? Well, this requires change on my part. God is ready to fill me with new wine but first, I must destroy the old wineskins that I have been clinging to the last few years. I must step up & make serious changes in my life & this frightens me. What if I do all that & nothing changes? What if I’m just wasting my time?

Well, what if I am? What’s the worst that would happen? I would be healthier. I would be more active. I would be out in the world again, meeting new people rather that hiding in the comfort of my home, my sanctuary. Or is it? Perhaps that sanctuary has become more of a prison, deceiving me into thinking I am safe when I am really shut out from the world.

Jesus commanded us to go into the world in order to continue His work. He placed that call on my heart many years ago. And now He challenges me to cast off my old wineskins, to create better, stronger wineskins & prepare for the exciting work He has set before me. Decisions, decisions.

PASS ME A NEEDLE! I HAVE SOME SEWING TO DO!