THE STORY OF JESUS: Luke 5:33-39
“No one after drinking old wine wants the new for ‘The old is better.’” (Luke 5:38)
The issue in this section is the matter of fasting.
To fast is a religious act, an act of devotion or piety.
‘Religion’ is how people act out their relationship to God.
Ever since the Fall, we have been performing religious acts.
Jesus came to restore our relationship to God, not our religion.
God wants to walk with us, not watch us perform religious acts.
God wants to enjoy the creation with us, not be locked up in a temple.
‘Religion’ is the old wineskin, fellowship with the Father is the old wine.
Jesus calls this old wine new because it is new to us – but it goes way back.
We talk to God, not just ‘pray’; we worship God, not just ‘go to church’.
We serve the poor, not just ‘give alms’.
We offer our hearts and lives, not just ‘ritual sacrifices’.
This is not ‘religion’, it is relationship, and it is better!
The only ‘religious’ duty we have is to love and obey God’s call to love!
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, teach me the full meaning of love, and help me to love God and people like this. I don’t want ‘religion’, I want a loving relationship!
There is a time for everything under the sun. A time to fast and pray and a time to eat and drink.
So it is with the old an the new – each in its time.
This is also true in our worship – we have two testaments – the old and the new. We need both.
And in our worship today, we do not hold only to the traditions of the day but also have room for the Spirit to work in us and through us. Growing in the knowledge of the Lord God.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.