Good Enough for Now

Repair or replace?

'No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.'! - Mark 2:21-22

In today's Gospel reading, we hear Jesus tell us two different approaches to the question, "Do I repair or replace?"

If we choose to repair a tear in a cloth, he tells us, we had better make sure the patch is not going to cause a bigger problem later on.

However, in some cases, like with the new wine, a replacement is necessary or the wine will be lost.

If we were making this decision in business, we would probably focus on a cost comparison.  Which solution is cheaper, to repair or to replace?

We would take other factors into consideration.  How long will the repair last?  Will a replacement give us anything we don't have today?

The examples Jesus gives have nothing to do with cost and everything to do with function.  Will the solution achieve the goal, to provide protection or to save the wine?

When we seek to do the will of God, we have to ask ourselves the same type of questions.  Will this approach achieve the results God wants for his people?

What is interesting is that Jesus presented these ideas while answering a question about fasting.  Why aren't you following the law?

There is a time for fasting, Jesus tells them, and a time for celebration.  There are times to repair and times to replace.  There are ways to do these things that yield results that last.

I remember a time when I was involved in a brief volunteer effort to get an old house ready to be used as a campaign headquarters for a local election.

The house had holes in the walls and garbage everywhere.  It would have taken weeks to make all the repairs necessary to make the place presentable.  But we only had one day.

Instead of repairing the holes, we covered them with paper and painted them.  It was embarrassing and I felt we had not done the job right.  But it gave the campaign a place to work.

Needless to say, those repairs were not going to last, but neither was the campaign.  It was good enough for now and nothing more.

Jesus wasn't calling us to do that kind of job.  Even though he spoke of the coming of the kingdom which many interpret as the end time, the time when all we know will disappear and heaven will reign, he gave us instructions for lasting change.

Don't just cover up your sins, but repent and sin no more.

Maybe we should take that advice in all we do, looking for lasting solutions, even when we don't know what the future will bring, for no one does.

If we plan for the purpose God gave us, how can we lose?

So, let us go and fix what can be fixed, replace what needs to be replaced, and make a difference that serves God's people.

More to come...