Scripture - Mark 2:22
I had a car that I drove for years. It was dependable for a long time. I was able to put a lot of miles on it.
But over time, that car gave me trouble. The downward spiral began as I drove across the Crescent City Connection, where I hit a bump and my car seat fell from under me. I immediately drove to the repair shop and the mechanic told me that the repair would cost far more than I was willing to pay. So I got back in my car and drove home. I found a few bricks in my backyard, propped up the seat and kept it moving. Then other stuff started breaking on the car. My wife suggested that I get a new car, but I refused because I didn’t want the hassle of finding a new car. I didn’t want a new car note. I made one repair after another. The repair bills just kept rising. Finally, I realized that new car was necessary.
I’m learning that people will avoid change if possible. People are afraid of things that are new. People will hold on to old cars that don’t work right. People will hold on to clothes that don’t fit right. People will hold on to old friends who aren’t right. People will hold on to old jobs that don’t work.
Even when it comes to the spiritual side of our lives, sometimes new is necessary. That’s what Jesus was saying to the disciples in Mark 2:22. Their religious practices had become stale; the original meaning of their practices had been forgotten. Much of what they were doing was only for show.
He wanted to break through ritualistic religiosity because putting fresh wine into an old wineskin was asking for trouble. The old wineskin couldn’t be stretched. The new wine would stress the old wineskin beyond in ability to yield. And so, both the wine and the skin would be lost. He said new is necessary.
We can be stubborn like old wineskins. We say things like, “This is just the way that I am. This is the way I’ve always done it. If you don’t like it, that’s your business. I’m not going to change for nobody.”
The old saying is, “If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got,” but I believe that God has more for you. Sometimes things must change. Growth requires change. It promotes progress. Don’t refuse it or resist it.
Don’t make your Christian walk a matter of habit; make it a matter of the heart. Don’t simply allow traditions to guide you; be sure that you are guided by the truth of God’s Word. This is your season to stretch. New is necessary so that God can do for you what He did for Jabez: enlarge your territory and bless you indeed.
Pastor Jamaal Weathersby