“a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
Mark 1:3 (NIV)

One of the most commonly asked questions this time of year is “What is on [insert your name of choice]’s Christmas list? I need ideas.” I have to imagine this has been the case forever, right? If you have ever received a pair of plain, white socks for Christmas as a kid, you remember the feeling of disappointment that swept through your body as you finished tearing the wrapping paper, and you don’t want to be the reason someone else experiences that feeling. The goal here is to be prepared so you don’t have to stress about finding something that person will like, and we often lean on others to accomplish that goal. Some people feel stronger about it than others, but I don’t know many people who enjoy feeling unprepared.

We often use preparedness, or lack thereof, as an excuse for not coming up with the result we would have hoped for. “If I had known ahead of time that you were stopping by, I would have cleaned the house,” “If I had just a little more time, I would have crushed that presentation,” or “If I knew they were dealing with all of that, I probably would have been more patient in the way I responded.” What’s funny about these scenarios is that there typically was a text message, a calendar invite, or a heads up of some sort given in the past that would have prepared us for those moments, but we were too distracted to take the hint. 

In the first chapter of Mark, we are taught that John the Baptist was on a mission to prepare people for Jesus’s coming long before he came. He traveled all over, urging them to confess their sins and turn to God for forgiveness before baptizing them in the Jordan River. Verse 5 tells us later in the passage that people came from all over Judea to see and hear John, yet the entire time John insisted that someone far greater than he would soon be coming. John was the “voice in the wilderness” doing everything he could to clear a path for Christ’s arrival and prepare the hearts of those who couldn’t begin to comprehend the greatness that would soon be walking among them. Many people accepted what John was preaching, and they were prepared to accept Jesus when he arrived. However, we also know there were plenty of people who refused to accept the news that John was spreading, and it wasn’t until Jesus’ crucifixion that they finally realized what John had been trying to prepare them for was true. The latter group had every opportunity to be prepared, but they missed it for a variety of reasons. There was no excuse to miss it, yet they did. 

It is a passage like this that I need every now and then to remind me to remain steadfast in my pursuit of the Lord at all times, not just during the Christmas season. It is so easy to get swept up in the busyness that life brings and forget that the promise of Jesus is not limited to the end of the calendar year or Sunday mornings. Passages like this are written to allow for us to prepare our hearts to receive Christ in the same way John the Baptist urged the people of Judea to prepare their hearts to do the same. If it is Christmas that provides you the opportunity to begin your walk with the Lord, or to get back on the path after wandering off, then absolutely take advantage of that. Just don’t miss the opportunity to consistently clear the path for God to move and do amazing things in your life year round, even after the stockings have been taken down and the lights are re-tangled for next year.

Patrick Loughran