Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

 

I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will  have the Light of life.  --John 8:12

I am the Bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.  --John 6:35

Today is the first Sunday of Advent.  It is four weeks before the celebration of God's greatest gift to Mankind.  As we prepare for Christmas with our families, we should stop and remember the preparations that God made thousands of years ago so that we could know Him.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."  --Matthew 2:1-2

Most Bible scholars agree that the wise men from the East had traveled up to two years to get to Jerusalem to visit the Christ child.  The star they followed had appeared two years before their meeting with Herod to ask where He might be born.  Think about that for a minute; God sent a heavenly light to guide the men to His only Son, who would describe Himself later as the Light of the world.

That was not the only preparation that had been made.  Not by a long shot.  Matthew tells us more of the story.

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.  They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:   AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, AND BY NO MEANS THE LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL."  --Matthew 2:3-6

The prophets had written this prediction fifteen hundred years earlier.  That's how long God had anticipated the Advent of His Son in Bethlehem.  Did you know that "Bethlehem" means "House of Bread"?  Oh, and Jesus's earthly parents did not even live in Bethlehem--God had to manipulate the political leaders of the day to call a census at that exact moment, just so that the One who later called Himself the Bread of life would be born in the "House of Bread."

See what God did there?

So here's the deal.  We can take that information and tuck it away in our brain, and go on with our Christmas shopping and baking and travelling.  Or we can heed the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:15, "Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of Peace."  We have the Good News of Jesus Christ in our hearts.  How can we best prepare our world for His peace?

One of the older carols you may hear in the next three weeks is one that says, "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin in me."  Let's make preparation to share His love in the coming year, not just monetarily or materialistically.  The very best gift we could give to someone is to share the Gospel, the greatest gift God ever gave to anyone.

Let's be the light of the world that Jesus said we were in Matthew 5:14.  You may think what can one person do?  One little point of light can pierce the darkness, but a number of small lights along the path can guide someone's attention to the Son.  That is what we have been put on earth to do.  Let's prepare our hearts and minds to that end, because of the preparation God performed to introduce to us the Way to Him.