MATTHEW JONES
Light has always pushed back darkness, but the way people have lived with light has changed over time. Long before electric bulbs, homes were lit with kerosene lamps. They worked, but they were smoky, messy, and at times unsafe. When electricity arrived, some people resisted it because they could not see the power behind it. Others felt it was too bright or unnecessary. Yet once people accepted it, entire communities changed. Electricity did not simply improve the old system. It offered a completely different way to live.
This picture helps explain how many of us respond when God brings something new into our lives. We may ask for change, but when the change arrives, it often feels uncomfortable. We pray for new chances, and God gives new duties. We ask for peace, and old hurts rise to the surface so that healing can begin. We ask for open doors, and God prepares our hearts before opening anything at all. Growth often feels like shrinking and stretching at the same time. Before God expands our life, He works on our pride. Before He sends us outward, He shapes us inward. Every new season calls for a new version of who we are becoming.
We sometimes pray for joy, and God uses discomfort to expose what needs attention inside us. We ask Him to fix situations around us, and He starts by working on our reactions, habits, and patterns. We pray for purpose, and God sends interruptions that pull us out of our routines. We want His work to fit our old rhythm, but His new work does not sit well with our old ways. There is a pull inside each of us between what feels familiar and what leads to growth. At some point, what is familiar can get in the way of what is fruitful.
This tension is clear in the story found in Mark chapter 2. People questioned why Jesus’ followers did not fast like others. Fasting was not wrong, but the timing was wrong. They were trying to fit a good practice into a moment where it did not belong. Jesus used this to teach that He is the one who defines what is new and when it arrives.
He then gave two images. One was a torn piece of clothing. Sewing new cloth onto an old garment makes the tear worse because the new cloth shrinks. The other picture was of wine skins. New wine was still expanding. Old wine skins were stiff and could not stretch, so they would burst. The lesson was simple: new life from God needs a willing and flexible heart.
Have thine own way!
Thou art the potter,
I am the clay.
Mold me and make me
after thy will,
while I am waiting,
yielded and still.
In these images, “old” does not refer to age but to attitude. Old means unwilling to change. New means willing to be shaped by God. Some people who have lived many years remain open and teachable. Their hearts can stretch. Others, no matter their age, can grow rigid. A rigid spirit cannot hold the fresh work of God because His movement brings expansion. His question to us is simple: If He pours more into us, will we stretch?
Many people can look back and see how God has stretched them through responsibility, challenge, or service. These moments push us toward prayer, toward Scripture, and toward deeper love for others. They form new patterns inside us. When God stretches us, He is not punishing us. He is preparing us.
Jesus does not attach new life to old habits. He gives a new heart and a new spirit to those who receive Him. For anyone who has not placed their trust in Him, the first step is to admit the need for Him, believe in His life, death, and resurrection, and confess Him as Lord. This is how a person becomes able to carry what He wants to give.
For those who already follow Him, there is still a warning. It is possible to walk with Jesus for years and still become rigid if the relationship fades into routine. When prayer becomes an afterthought, the heart grows stiff. Prayer keeps us soft, teachable, and ready. It opens the door for God’s shaping work. It keeps us flexible enough to hold what He wants to pour into our lives.
Practicing simple daily prayer can help with this. A short morning surrender. A pause before reacting. A quiet moment to listen. Praying Scripture. The invitation is the same for all of us: to be willing, flexible, and open. To let God shape us so we can carry what He wants to give.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
2 Corinthians 5:17
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