Those words or something akin to them have rung throughout history. Jesus said it this way, “No one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.'”
Change is hard. Mainly because every single generation says ‘The old is better.’ In other words, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’
Unfortunately the people who say these kinds of things are oftentimes blind to the problems. Blind that if change doesn’t happen, extinction will be at the end of the road.
Jesus came, doing a new thing. It looked different. his disciples didn’t fast and pray like John and the Pharisees. They partied! And the religious leaders took offense. But Jesus says,
“Hey, when the groom is in the building, it’s a time of celebration, not mourning! And I’m doing a new thing. If you try to make the new conform to the old, you’ll ruin both. To do what is new, you have to put it into a new framework.”
That message didn’t go over then any better than it does today. Yet as I get older, change does become harder. The old “seems” better. But isn’t that true of every generation?
But I believe God is wanting to do a new thing. It does not for one second abolish even one iota of the Scripture truth. Whether you like it or not, if it’s in Scripture, it’s true. No apologies. Even when Jesus brought a new dimension the old truth did not change (Mt 5:17-20).
But I believe he is doing a new thing with new structures. Structures are tools of the hour, not of the ages. Yet will we be the barricade in the road that says, ‘The old is better. Let’s keep it that way.’ Or will we say, “God, let me join you. Just show me how.”
