Making Ready {GMG Reflection- Luke 3}

"And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, 'The voice of the one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.''" 

~Luke 3:3-4 {NASB}

Luke 4 describes John's ministry making ready the way of Jesus. John called people to repentance and was anything but shy about it, offering up harsh warnings. His role was to help people prepare themselves for salvation by calling them to repent of their sins. His message is still so relevant today. When we have unrepentant sin in our lives it causes a major obstacle in our relationship with the Savior. Even things that aren't necessarily sin can distract us from that relationship and can keep us from bearing good fruit in our lives {"Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance" ~Luke 3:8}. 

While it isn't the "fruit" that saves us, the fruit is a sign of true repentance. John goes on to give practical examples of fruitful lives through a Q&A with some of his followers. These examples display to me that good fruit comes from a life in which one thinks less of themselves and more of others {"And the crowds were questioning him saying, 'Then what shall we do?' And he would answer and say to them, 'The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.'" ~Luke 3:10-11}.

As I respond to this scripture I seek to make ready the way of the Lord in my own life such that my life might bear good fruit.

Repentance.
One thing "making ready" means is repenting of sin that I discover in my life. Admitting I am wrong, seeing sin for what it is, seeing sin how God sees it, and turning from it.  It does not mean I will never sin again, but it does mean that I choose to agree with God that I am wrong and choose to stop.

Eliminating Distractions.
I can also make ready the way of the Lord by getting rid of distractions. I can find myself obsessing over worldly things {having a clean house, my wardrobe, a hobby, my appearance, etc.} and spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about those things whether they are good or bad. These distractions leave little room for God to speak into my life because I am so busy thinking about and doing other things. I need to slow down and focus up, setting my mind "on things above, not on the things that are on earth" {Colossians 3:2}.

Listen.
Once the distractions are gone I need to actually listen. This is hard for me.  Turning off my own inner voice running through the laundry list of things I want to get done and concerns I am drawn to obsess over, and tuning in to the still small voice of God. It is easier to do this when I am less distracted, but still takes patience and intentional practice asking "Lord, what do you have for me to do or learn today?" and waiting for an answer, expecting and answer. Then having the confidence to obey when the answer comes.

I am pleased to report that as I have been intentional this week about making ready my life for Jesus to work in it, by repenting of sin, purposefully eliminating distractions, and intentionally listening, I have been privileged to hear the voice of God speaking in a quiet way to my heart.  As a result I am seeing the fruit begin to grow and I am praising God for how He is so quick to respond when we make ready the way for Him in our lives!