Wineskins and Boxes

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. Luke 5:37,38

I often wondered why Jesus used this particular illustration with the Pharisees and Scribes when they wanted to debate with Him about the necessity for prayer and fasting. They could not grasp the fact that He fellowshipped with sinners and had disciples that did not fit into their picture of the “spiritual” life. After all, they had become quite adapt at putting God, the law, the Scriptures, and God’s people into a neat little box that left little room for variety, change, or uniqueness. Their self imposed, rigid life styles could not grasp the concept of freedom in the secular or religious areas of life. To them, Jesus and His teachings were too radical. So why Jesus’ talk of wineskins?

In Bible times the wineskins were made from goatskins. As grape juice would ferment it would expand. An old goatskin no longer possessed the ability to stretch so it would eventually break due to the expansion of the formation of wine. But a new wineskin would be able to stretch and hold its substance well.

The Pharisees were living their life out of the tradition of the law but completely missing a connection with the Law Giver. They had the requirements down pat….they were set in their ways. They could not see that Jesus offered a better way for them to live their life. It was a life lived under grace and mercy rather than law keeping. But this was too much of a stretch for them. Jesus wanted them to see that new life could not be poured into the old religious, legalistic life. In Him we are made new creatures.

There was a time when holding on to my way of thinking hindered me from stretching and growing in my Christian life. Without realizing it, I had placed God and my Christian life in a neat little box. At His urging, I dared to open the box and climb out. I dared to let go of what I thought was the only way to live the Christian life. Was there fear? You bet! Were there tears? Plenty! Did others see the change as a good thing? Not always. But I will say with passion, the changes have been necessary and life saving!

Father, may I never again live my life out of an old wineskin. Amen.