Unleashed: As You Go – Pray
“So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NET)
Celebrating a new year represents more than just a day on the calendar, it marks a new beginning. The word new is a fairly easy concept to grasp. The dictionary defines new as “of recent origin; having existed only a short time; lately made, produced, or grown.”
So, how can one 24-hour period on January 1st make such a difference? One day it is the old year, the next the beginning of something new. Yet at the turn of the calendar page, we feel the excitement, hope, freshness, and a restored outlook as 2022 begins.
“There, where clinging to things ends, is where God begins to be. If a cask is to contain wine, you must first pour out the water. The cask must be bare and empty. Therefore, if you wish to receive divine joy and God, first pour out your clinging to things. Everything that is to receive must and ought to be empty.”
These words were written centuries ago by German theologian Meister Eckhart. However, centuries before Eckhart, Jesus responded to the accusation that he wasn’t following the regulations of fasting by saying “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. 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.” (Matthew 9: 6-17)
Jesus didn’t have a problem with fasting or keeping religious traditions. However, He did have a problem if the old kept someone in ritualistic bondage. Jesus had a problem if the old kept someone from truly enjoying their life with God. Jesus knew the old wineskin couldn’t hold both old and new. “You must first pour out the water. The cask must be bare and empty.”
We have finally finished the annual ritual of boxing up all the Christmas decorations, moving them to the storeroom, and cleaning the house. Now we know Christmas will come in a few months, so why not just leave all the Christmas decorations up in the house? It would save a lot of time and be so much more efficient come November. Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy Christmas all year long? Regardless of the fact, the neighbors would talk about us, keeping the house decorated for Christmas would keep us from ever enjoying the excitement of new holidays. The beautiful decorations that make Christmas special would look out of place at Easter, the 4th of July, or Thanksgiving. The old must give way to allow the new to come into our home.
Holding onto the old is big business in the United States. There is an estimated 49,233 self-storage units or enough space for every American to stand under the total canopy of self-storage roofing at the same time. This doesn’t include garage, attic, and closet storage space where we store stuff. The problem with collecting things is that you eventually run out of storage space.
Unfortunately, too many people try to horde the old and miss the new. Holding onto the old can keep us from the blessings that God would like to give us. Billy Graham told the story about a little child that was playing with a very valuable vase. “He put his hand into it and could not withdraw it. His father too, tried his best to get it out, to no avail. They were thinking of breaking the vase when the father said, “Now my son, make one more try. Open your hand and hold your fingers out straight as you see me doing, and then pull.” The little fellow said, “O no, dad, I couldn’t put my fingers out like that because if I did I would drop my dime.”
“As children bring their broken toys
With tears for us to mend
I brought my broken dreams to God
Because He is my friend.
But then, instead of leaving Him
In peace to work alone
I hung around and tried to help
With ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried,
How can you be so slow?
My child, He said, what could I do…
You never did let go.”
(Broken Dream by Lauretta P. Burns)
Could this be the year when you need to open your hand and let go of the dime in your hand to receive something far more valuable from God?
Could this be the year when you pour out the old to finally enjoy the new that God is giving you?
The new is only valuable when we are ready to open up our lives to receive it.
God is great,
Pastor Lynn