Scripture Reading: Luke 3:1-9
4 “As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough ways smooth;
6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
Imagine waiting, seemingly forever, for the right one to come along; the one God promised to send your way. How would you know the right one has come? How would you prepare for their arrival? Buy a new wardrobe? Bedazzle them with glittering jewelry? Try out the newest designer fragrance? Maybe shed a few pounds? But, what if the right one isn’t a person, but a savior? How do you prepare for His arrival?
For generations, Israel had trusted God’s promise that the Right One would come. Now, the Right One—Jesus had arrived. So, Luke announces Jesus by first announcing John the Baptist as the forerunner, drawing on Isaiah 40:1-5. There, in the midst of their despair, Isaiah proclaimed restoration to the Babylonian exiles. For there to be restoration, a way between God and sinful people must be prepared. But, the way isn’t prepared with picks, axes, or shovels to build a road. Instead, it is true fruits of repentance that pave the way for God to effect restoration.
Several hundred years later, Luke portrays Israel under a new oppression; one of their own making—the oppression of sin. The cure for Israel’s self-imposed calamity is a savior, whom John introduces by being “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.” John challenges the people to prepare for the Right One the right way, by repenting of their sin.
Preparing for the Right One, isn’t done with a new wardrobe, but taking off the old person for the new one and dressing in the righteousness of the Savior. It’s not dazzling the right one with glitter, but coming broken and contrite, just as you are. No need for a new, designer fragrance. Instead, offer up the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, a sweet aroma before God. No need to lose weight. Instead, lay aside every weight and sin that hinders us from running the race of faith with endurance.
We can devote our lives to searching for the right one, when the right one is right in front of us. Your Right One, Jesus Christ, is prepared to receive you. Are prepared for the Right One to come into your life? Are you prepared to have your heart, mind, spirit, and being transformed by the One who loves you as you are, but loves you too much to leave you as you are? When you offer the true fruits of repentance, the Right One—Jesus Christ, will make everything right in your life.
Question to Ponder: How do I prepare for the Right One to come into my life?
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”—Mark 2:17
