Matthew 9:16, 17 NIV
16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
We change into something new when we trust that Jesus is able to help us. Trust that together we can do what Jesus teaches, what he calls us to be. Jesus teaches us to put new wine into new wine skins. We are the wine skins and our acceptance of Jesus is the new wine. We can become new. A good place to start is by deepening our intimacy and our dependency on Jesus’ teachings. As our faith grows and we join this with our intellect, and activities, we will find ourselves developing a capacity and abilities to be that new wine skin, that new Christian, that new church. We can help make a wonderful difference in the lives of others. Jesus calls us to be the light in a dark world. This is part of our responsibility as Believers. It is our duty to be new wine skins. When we become new wine skins, we pour our new wine into other new wine skins. We can bring new people into our lives because now we will be able to bring them closer to the Lord. We can bring new people into our church because now that we are the new wine skins with new wine. We will be able to hold them and nurture them just as we’ve been cared for. Our faith, our stories, love and hospitality inform others that they are welcomed and needed right where we are. We can do it because Jesus helps us all to become new.