Preparing the Way

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:1-5 ESV). Tomorrow will be Good Friday. Once again we come to a time of preparation for the celebration of Easter. The more I began to think about the act of preparation the more I was drawn to our reading this morning. Over the years, I have heard this Bible verse many times. I have always visualized a stone-paved road. These roads were somewhat different than our highways of today. There was no pavement, but still the roadway fulfilled its purpose of allowing people to travel. The roadbed still had to be prepared. It needed to be graded and packed. Some material had to be laid as a cushion for the pavement stones. It still required preparation to be useful. Advances in travel have been amazing, especially since the development of the airplane. We can now jet anywhere in the world in a short period of time. Yet it takes many people a long time to build new highways and bridges and airplanes, to carefully prepare them so they are useful to other people. We are constantly preparing for something. We prepare out homes for guests by cleaning and cooking and taking out the trash. We prepare ourselves for the day’s activities by combing our hair and finding clean clothes. We prepare for meetings and vacations and the IRS. Preparation for daily life takes a lot of time. It’s hard work. I wonder if we work as hard to prepare the way for our Lord? Do we prepare our hearts for him? And after we say he is in our hearts, do our lives show his presence through worship, prayer, and service to others? Are we becoming the people God wants us to be? Today’s reading calls us to be "prepared" for Jesus when he comes into our hearts, we are to recognize him and imitate him. We follow his lead and further his mission here on earth. Just like a highway project, it takes a lot of time and effort to prepare a way for the Lord. And, like our paved freeways, our preparation for God is not a one-time project, but one of on-going maintenance. During this Lenten season, let’s think about the "preparation" we do in our lives and make sure we are preparing for the right things, the things that will matter to us eternally. Are you preparing “the way”? Here are just a few suggestions. First, pray in repentance and humility. Make sure that you have settled all your broken relationships with others. Even when it is impossible to contact them and restore the relationship, confess your anger and hurt before God and release them from all debt to you. Second, begin the day with personal worship. Even if it is no more than listening to a Christian tape or CD on the way to work, or while you begin your home chores, put the music of worship into your life each day. Third, consciously make an effort to minister kindness and grace to someone. Use a smile or a kind word to lift someone’s spirit to the Lord each day. Prepare the way!