PREPARE THE WAY

Matthew 3:10 “The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

An old farmer had plowed around a large rock in one of his fields for years. He had broken several plowshares and a cultivator on it and had grown rather morbid about the rock. After breaking another plowshare one day, and remembering all the trouble the rock had caused him through the years, he finally decided to do something about it. When he put the crowbar under the rock, he was surprised to discover that it was only about six inches thick and that he could break it up easily with a sledgehammer. As he was carting the pieces away he had to smile, remembering all the trouble that the rock had caused him over the years and how easy it would have been to get rid of it sooner.

Creating something new often requires that we first remove any obstacles to that new creation. For instance, putting up a new building first requires that we prepare the land. Many rocks, bushes and trees, at times, have to be removed. At times, wet lands have to be filled in with soil so that a new building will be able to have a stronger foundation. If you don’t get rid of the obstacles, you simply cannot build. Try putting a foundation on a piece of land filled with stumps, bush, water and rocks and see what will happen. It just can’t be done.

When we enter into a new relationship with a person, one of the tasks we have to engage in is removing obstacles to that relationship. Some people know each other at work or at church for years, but they never get close because there are obstacles to furthering such a relationship. Perhaps, some surface things like appearance or language, or an apparent difference of opinion or lifestyle, keep people apart. Only when those obstacles get swept aside do two people have any chance of really becoming friends.

If we have purchased a piece of land and want to build our home there, we carefully look at the land and ask ourselves: What do I need to do in order to prepare this land for my home? As we reflect on our lives we could ask: What are the major obstacles that hinder us from really developing a strong with relationship with Christ?

Are we allowing a certain sin to constantly drag us down, robbing us of our peace and injecting sadness into everything we do? Perhaps it is something that happened in the past, something that we consider to be such a heavy burden that we don’t know how we have carried it so long and so far. We can still relive the past in our imaginations, still blaming ourselves, still wishing it had never happened. If such is the case, we need to focus on Christ and not on ourselves. Jesus wants to free us from these past burdens. He died to bring us freedom. God is a God of mercy, forgiveness and freedom. Allow the Lord to carry those things which are too heavy for you. Take them to him in prayer.

The first, middle and last step to clearing the ground for a right relationship to Jesus is prayer. Through sincere and persevering prayer Jesus will most certainly lead us back to himself. Any obstacle standing in the way of a healthy relationship with Jesus is an obstacle to our true peace and happiness. Allow the Lord to remove all obstacles in your life.