Patched

There are no simple fixes in our lives.

"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

Right at the beginning of Mark's Gospel we hear Jesus explain why he came among us. 

He is a new way, a fresh start for those who had failed to made God the center of their lives and had reserved that place for themselves.

Sometimes we see something that needs to be fixed and we look for a quick patch, a simple solution that will right the boat and allow us to keep sailing, but that strategy does not always work, at least not for long.

It is the difference between a diet which works for a little while and a lifestyle change which can become permanent.

God wants us to make permanent, complete changes in our lives, not just apply bandages.

But that is hard.  We think of all the things we are missing and we renew our desire to go back to the way we were, and so we burst, like an old wineskin.

Of course, we tend to think we have time.  We don't have to start now.  We can wait until we are ready. 

But time is not ours to control.  Tomorrow may be too late.  We need to decide now to make the change that restores us to the fullness we could be enjoying in God's grace.

It's not that we aren't given grace unless we change.  We have it.  What we need to do is live in it, enjoy it, make it the source of our completeness.

Without experiencing God's love, we are alone, sad, fearful, depressed.

So, let's make a choice today to give up the stuff that brings us no joy and go with God.

We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

More to come...