Today’s Reading: Mark 2:18-22; Luke 5:33-39

QUESTION: One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?” – Luke 5:33

This was a question asked by those who had been taught to make a regular habit of fasting, as did the Pharisees. They noticed that Jesus’ disciples were not fasting, and they went straight to Jesus for an explanation. What a great place to take our questions — straight to the One who has the answer!

It seems like a common tendency in the church for us to look around at other believers and take notice of how they are living out their faith. We question their choices and sometimes doubt our own habits of discipleship. We wonder who is right and who is wrong, or we arrogantly assume we are the one who needs to impose our own thoughts on those around us, even if we do not have scriptural context to do so.

We have a tendency to compare ourselves with others and worry about how we measure up with someone else, or how another believer measures up with us. God has made each one of us unique, and He has a plan for our lives that is different from anyone else’s. It is NOT God’s plan for us to criticize our brothers and sisters in Christ, but to lift them up in prayer and support their obedience to God.

Jesus’ response to John’s disciple spoke to the heart of this question. The great teacher did something so many educators are known for doing — he answered his question with another question.

ANSWER: Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.” – Luke 5:34-39

Sometimes the old is not compatible with the new. If I buy the newest available software and then try to load it on a computer I have had for ten years, the two might not be compatible. If a church hangs onto old traditions in a changing culture, they may find their numbers declining. When God is calling us to bring others into a growing relationship with Christ, the last thing we want to do is ask them to fit into a mold that is not scripturally essential to the forgiveness of sins.

SOMETIMES WE HOLD SO TIGHTLY TO THE NON-ESSENTIALS OF YESTERDAY THAT WE MISS OUT ON THE NEW THING THAT GOD IS DOING TODAY.

Are we ready for the new thing God wants to do in our lives? Are we light enough on our feet to change our direction if God says to go a different way? When we daily spend time in the Word, are we seeking a new revelation from the Spirit, open to having the Lord expose our own sin or wrongful thinking? Are we hanging on tightly to an old mindset that is inconsistent with scripture? Are we too comfortable with the familiar or are we eager for God to give us a fresh perspective?

Lord, open our hearts so that we are always ready to love and support our fellow believers. Open our minds so that we are always a student of the Spirit living within us. Open our schedules to spend time studying your Word with fresh eyes and clear thoughts so that we can hear from you today. Renew our calling and refresh our enthusiasm to bring others into a growing relationship with Christ. Amen.