Prepare the Way: Mark 1:1-3
Change is never easy. Change involves analysis, self-reflection, and understanding that we’re not already perfect. Change means stepping out of our comfort zone and being willing to try to become something new. Change involves leaving a familiar place and embracing something different.
As the story of Jesus opens in Mark, we hear a command. “Prepare the way of the Lord and make His paths true.” In the ancient world, whenever an important person, such as a member of a royal family, planned to go on a substantial journey a messenger would be sent out beforehand. This messenger served two functions. First, the messenger analyzed the road and determined where it needed to be fixed so the royal person following would have an easy passage. Second, the messenger told the people living along the road to get ready for the royal visitor so they could show proper hospitality.
Jesus came, and He came to walk among us. He came to dwell within us through God’s Spirit. The roads that Jesus walks lead into our heart, into our mind, into our soul. The journey Jesus desires to walk with us leads into the very core of our being.
In this light, we ask what needs to be fixed along the path that leads to our heart, our mind, and our soul. Where in our soul can we smooth out rough spots before they stall the journey Jesus would walk with us? Where in our mind can we tear down impasses so the journey with Jesus can reach its final destination? Where in our heart can we expose the dark corners and blind areas and prevent the world from stealing in and entrapping us to take us away from the journey with Jesus? What steps do we need to take to show hospitality to Jesus as He comes to walk with us?
When we walk with Jesus, we are changed. We find thoughts we used to privately enjoy no longer belong within us under the light of Christ. We realize actions we once fleetingly enjoyed no longer bring us joy. We discover words we once said no longer feel sweet upon our lips. We feel the pull of Jesus calling us to better thoughts that shine even when brought out into the open, to actions that lead to a lasting joy, and to words that are not just sweet on our lips but also sweet in the ears that hear them.
Still, it is a difficult road to walk. We are human beings, and giving up the pursuits of our sinful humanity isn’t for the faint of heart. The more we journey with Jesus, the more we see the faults in the path that trip us up, the impasses that halt the journey, and the blind corners that threaten to steal us away. The more we journey and see ourselves through Jesus’ eyes, the more we understand the true nature of the journey required.
He walks the journey with us. Still, change is never easy.
