Luke 3:4-6 “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.’” 

Across our city major infrastructure projects are redesigning our roads. By the time it is completed buildings will be demolished, roads elevated, tunnels dug. It is a significant, inconvenient, costly effort to make our traffic safer and flow faster. This is what it takes to unpick decades of development so our future will be better. 

The Gospel of Luke describes a similar nationwide project for the birth of Jesus. Israel was to prepare for God’s salvation by filling valleys, flattening mountains, straightening roads, making smooth rough ground (Luke 3:4-6). Of course, Luke is not describing a roadwork project. He is referring to the work of John the Baptist, calling for repentance and renewal across the nation, in preparation for the ministry of Jesus. What needed to change were the hearts of people. To see God’s salvation, they would have to straighten the crooked ways of their hearts. 

Advent is our time to prepare the way for our Lord. You can see the work required to rectify roads. There is much digging, destruction, mess to make way for the new. It is inconvenient and costly, but it needs to be done. What might need to be removed or filled in, to straighten your heart for God? 

In Him, 

Jason 

Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash