New Wine
Mark 2:21-28
Walking through the streets of ring road in Benin City, Nigeria, I saw a write up by the newsstand boldly written; “You cannot use yester years potential to win today’s credit”.
Years later, those words resonate with me. I realize how few words, for some reasons, get stuck in our head. Yesterday was good, beautiful and nice. But it comes to a time when we have to consciously let it go. We let it go so we can usher in what we can use to fix today’s issues. My encounter with the newspaper stand often remind me of what Jesus said in this verse of the Bible.
Mark 2: 22. (KJV) And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
Oops, we sometime wish a delete key came with our errors, where we could delete what we (would have) or not have said or done. The truth is, we may not have the luxury of changing things easily, but we can have a fresh start with a whole new mindset of ideas.
In context with the verse, Jesus response to the Pharisee about the question of a ‘fast’ was answered in several ways. He wanted them to understand that there need to be a match between what they want and how it can be accommodated.
It is helpful to realize we need new and updated information to counter relevant issues in life. New wine is being interpreted by most Bible scholars as the Holy Spirit, or anointing. However, we view it. There is need for a match.
Evans Akpo 