It’s amazing how much people tend to prefer something old over something new. Many of us are so ingrained in rejecting new things that it can often take time for them to grow on us.

Some make it their hobby to collect vintage items. There’s a certain nostalgia to it.

But this is not something that is relegated to just old things in the form of antiquities. Our affinity towards clinging to something old that we are familiar and comfortable with is nothing new. This phenomenon can also be true about spiritual things. Jesus said something profound,

Luke 5:39 “And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, “The old is better.”

Jesus had just answered some of the Scribes and Pharisees who had questioned Him about why His disciples did not fast like they and the disciples of John. Jesus explained why and then spoke of old cloth patched with new cloth and an old wineskin versus a new one before he stated what we just read from Luke 5:39.

This phenomenon of preferring the old over the new existed during Jesus’s time and has persisted throughout the ages. It is one of the greatest hindrances to believers experiencing all that is available to them.

The time of Moses was glorious, but it was a fading glory. When Jesus came, He knew He had been sent on a mission to establish the New Covenant with a greater glory that would never fade.

The example Jesus gave was His way of explaining that the Old had to go and be completely replaced by the New.  Only a new wineskin would be able to contain the immeasurable glory of the New Covenant glory. The essence of that glory would be the Promised Holy Spirit. But, alas, those who drink the old wine have a tendency to say it is better, and thus, it can be a struggle to accept the new.

There is a tangible nature to the Holy Spirit. He can be felt in many ways. His power works in very diverse ways. I liken it to air. I can’t see the air, but I know it is there. Here in the South, we have a saying: you can wear the air.  That’s our way of referencing how humid it might be. On a still calm day with no breeze, the air cannot be seen or felt if there is little to no humidity. However, if I get on my bike and begin to ride or if I were to run, I would feel the air. Sometimes, when a front is moving through, the winds pick up, and the air demonstrates its power over natural objects it moves them.

The Holy Spirit is like that. The New Covenant came like a strong front to blow out what had been and to bring in something New! Believers have to decide which covenant they wish to be in, but know this. God is only accepting the New Covenant now. He is not operating through the Old one. To enjoy true intimacy in a relationship with the Father and walk according to the Spirit, one must approach Him in the New Covenant way. Sadly, there are many who are clueless regarding the differences between that which is Old and that which is New. Unfortunately, the Old is predominantly taught in many churches.

I encourage you today to know the difference and decide which you prefer, Old or New.