NEW WINE IN OLD WINESKINS

 Have you heard the old saying, "I am too old to change" when speaking with an older adult? Have you said it yourself? I find as I am growing older that I don't want my age to stop me from learning and growing as a person, in my faith, or in other areas of my life. Every day I wake up I am excited for another new adventure in living life.

Now recently I learned another lesson on interaction with people. I sometimes come at people like a blunt instrument. Texting, emailing, and Messenger are great forms of communicating but not completely because you cannot see the person you are talking to and their facial expressions or body language. You also cannot hear the tone of voice so things can become misunderstood. The best communication is face to face. Now when that is not possible be very careful how you word what you are saying so as not to be misunderstood.

If you pour new wine into an old wineskin the wineskin will swell and break. Fortunate that when new ideas and understandings come into an older person such as myself we don't swell and burst or at least I hope not! But like new wine poured into a new wineskin the wine and the wineskin will be preserved safely. 

If we take our new learnings seriously then we have the opportunity to become a better person, a better follower of Jesus, and a better human being. This will also help us become new and fresh and vibrant. It will keep us young. Now maybe not young on the outside but certainly young on the inside. What a blessing that is! Our soul is the new wineskin that can receive new ideas and understanding.

Scripture tells us in Mark 2:22 about the wineskins but what Jesus was teaching is that the Pharisees could not accept the new teachings of Jesus and they would burst in hate and lose the grace of the gospel being given to them (or poured into them). How sad that is to be that closed-minded that you cannot learn and grow.

Scripture also teaches us in 2 Corinthians 4:16 not to lose heart because even though our physical body is wasting away with age our soul inside our bodies is staying young and being renewed every day. Praise Jesus for that! This is why we feel young all the time within our bodies. It is just our physical bodies that sometimes remind us we are aging. 

Do not let aging stop you from living and growing in understanding (remember wine gets better with age). Take a walk, read a book. pray, and be full of gratefulness and forgiveness. Allow yourself to be full of wonder and love and graciousness. Life is better lived in the positive energy of the Lord.