Friday, December 16, 2005
Luke 3:4-6 "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God."
REPENT!
Still the voice of God's prophet John rings out: REPENT! Through this Word God still prepares people to welcome His Son as Savior and King, to honor Him today with our worship, to serve Him tomorrow in our treatment of others, to lift up our heads in glad anticipation at His return in glory.
You see, God knows none of these things can happen unless we deal with the selfishness and pridefulness, the love of sin and the excuses that go with it -- the strong inclination to value our own opinion even above God's will. All these obstacles to the welcome of Christ into heart and life must be brought low . . . leveled off by that kind of honest and regret-filled sorrow which is the mark of Spirit-worked repentance.
And those deep ravines of despair and doubt? They also are obstacles to Christ's rule in us. To say "God cannot use me"; to say "It's too good to be true"; in despondency to think God's promises don't apply to you -- these valleys of sorrow the Spirit fills by turning our hearts away from doubt and despair to the security and certainty of God's own promises.
Well then, if repentance is God's work, then there is no reason to urge you to repent, right? Don't tell John the Baptist! If only a heart surgeon can help you, you don't sit at home and say, "nothing for me to do". You go to him, talk to him frankly and openly, listen to him, and do what he says. It's no different with spiritual heart problems. Go to the only One who can change your heart. Go to the Lord. Honestly tell Him your sorry condition. Listen to His Word to you, and depend on it. Don't shy away from the truth that convicts, like the pain that precedes healing, it is necessary.
When we see how unfit we are, what poor beggars we are before God; when we see how we have nothing to offer the Lord, the Spirit has done His initial work -- enabling us to see clearly that it is with empty hands we hold fast to Christ our Lord, depending on His living and dying to set us right with God, relying on no one and nothing else.
