Part 10: The Reproduction (Luke 5:37)

Part 10:  the reproduction

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. (Luke 5:37 NASB)

When yeast is introduced into the must, it goes right to work. There is not a moment's delay. It does NOT, however, go right to work converting sugar to alcohol. That will ultimately be the job of the yeast, but the FIRST job of the yeast is to reproduce. An army of yeast cells will be required to turn a vat of grape must (juice+seeds+pulp+skin) into wine. The cells will begin to reproduce as quickly as possible and continue steadily until sufficient numbers are available to do the work that must be done. This is not work that will be done on top of the must where you might get a glimpse of the cells dividing. The yeast head to the bottom of the vat and begin to divide. The casual observer can not see a bit of action at all. In fact, you might think nothing is happening, but you would be wrong. In the place where no one can see, one of the first, and critical steps in transformation is occurring. Without it, no wine can be produced. 

In that same way, the transformation of one trapped in  the grip of sin does not happen overnight, and the beginning of transformation may be completely invisible to the naked eye. It takes considerable room in a life for the Holy Spirit to do the work of transformation, so making room is one of the first jobs. Perhaps attitudes need to change, or a new willingness toward God needs to develop. It may be that nothing you can see looks at all like freedom, or even like the potential for freedom. At the deepest spot of hurt and pain, however, healing may have already begun. 

You know the saying, "You can't judge a book by its cover".  In the same way, neither the vat of wine nor the life of a wayward loved one can be judged by what you see. The start of something amazing could be happening at the deepest point where no one can see. 

We are a people of faith who walk by that faith, and not by sight. Nowhere is that more important than in the transformation of grapes to wine and sin-bound souls to freedom in Christ. Take heart. None of your prayers have been ignored. There are answers to your prayers. You just may not see them yet. 

Continue to pray that the work of redemption and transformation will continue until all the work is done