Preparing the Way

Some friends and I are studying the Gospel of Mark and at present we are looking at John the Baptist. John lived out by the Jordan River and called people to repent of their sins and be ceremonially washed in the river by baptism. He dressed like Elijah and ate locusts and wild honey. I asked Jacob if he would like that and for some reason he said no. I told him that if McDonald's existed back then, you could go through the walk-thru and order a pack of locust and request the "wild honey" dipping sauce. Not even Ronald McDonald could sell Jacob on that idea!

John's mission was to prepare the way for the Lord. The Gospels quote Isaiah 40:3 as John being the "voice crying out to make the way for the Lord in the wilderness" and to "make His path straight." I found in a commentary where Isaiah's metaphor is that of ancient roads. The roads were not the asphalt wonders of our day but trails that stayed in disrepair. Servants would go before a king and clear the path of debris and prepare the way for the coming dignitary. John did this for Jesus as he called people to repentance. The path he prepared was the paths of people's hearts. It made me realize that we who believe in Christ are called to do the same thing. Like John we simply share the truth and those who heed it have hearts prepared for Christ to enter. It is He that changes the heart, not us. Like John, we simply have to share and leave the change up to the King. Being like John thankfully does not mean we have to wear camel-hair garments or eat Mclocusts with wild honey dipping sauce. We just go along the path and share. In the process, our own heart gets cleared a little more and we see more clearly the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."

The path is not always the path we planned on. John spent his whole life as an aesthetic, like a monk rejecting the pleasures of this world (thus, the locust diet) to play his historical role in redemptive history. There were times he questioned this, especially after he was arrested. Surely he wished his life could have been different at times. We didn't plan on the path we are on either. I would much rather we not be going through Battens and there are days I question God, even in anger. But it is the path we are on. It is not one I can change. John could have chose something else, but didn't. Maybe that is why God does not intervene sometimes and change our situation as we may lack the resolve of John to stay on track. Maybe God does not change the circumstances so that we will be on the very path we need to be on to prepare our hearts and the hearts of others. Each of us, even Macayla, plays a part in redemptive history. She has certainly prepared the path of my heart. I have faith that when it is all said and done, we will look back across an amazing picture only God could paint. The unkept wilderness path will be a highway of gold.