Meditation

Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Jesus said, “No one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”—Mark 2:22 (NIV)

It had been a year since I last made applesauce from fresh apples. I was eager to get into the task and gathered my tools quickly. As I started to prepare the apples for cooking, I was struggling to core them. Then I remembered I had bought a new apple corer—yet I was struggling with the old, dull one. Why had I not simply discarded the old one that no longer worked well?

It can be like that in my spiritual life too. I cling to old routines and old habits that no longer serve me well. As today’s passage from 2 Corinthians tell us, in Christ we are new—the old is gone.

I make life more difficult when I refuse to part with what no longer works, forgetting to seek God’s guidance and use the new ways that God gives me. Reading scripture from a new perspective and discussing what I read with other Christians helps. And always, we can pray, asking God for enlightenment and guidance.

Prayer: Loving God, help us to discard our old ways and remain open to new experiences and fresh perspectives that bring us closer to you. Amen.

Thought for the day: When I let go of what no longer serves me, God will guide me to fresh ways.

—April Bogert, New York