Make straight the way for the Lord
Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!” A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:3-8 NLT
From the text, Isaiah declared that the King is coming. He is calling the people to prepare the way. God comes to us as we are, where we are, and in whatever situation our real lives are. He wants us to be ready to receive Him and to surrender our lives to Him. We are told in Luke 3:1–18 that Jesus is the coming King. We can only be ready for His coming when we receive the new life He is offering. We cannot hide behind religiosity and denominational labels however we deemed that we have the monopoly of the truth. What we need is the newness that God alone can create within us. This is what God is calling us to do: “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!” This is how God will accomplish His purpose. “Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills.” Isaiah was not referring to a literal, geographical change. He is talking about the explosion of real repentance. God is talking about a new moral landscape demonstrated in our actions. He is talking about the advancement and propagation of salvation. These actions are necessary to the Kingdom of Christ. He is talking about a transformation shown when disappointments are turned into joy, pride is replaced by humility and submission, anxiety overcame with peace, and relationships are expressions of God’s overflowing love within. If we will continue to hold on to the status quo and continually resist God’s shocking but beneficial salvation, we risk having no part with Christ. We do not have control over our lives and for how long we will be here on this earth. Our lives as described by Isaiah are “like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord.” Our time in this world is finite but God promises eternity with Him by responding to His offer of salvation through His Word that will stand forever.
Blessings,
