A Season of Hope: Preparing Our Hearts for Easter
Psalm 41:4
“I said, ‘Have mercy on me, LORD;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.’”
From its introduction to Broadway audiences in 1971, to moviegoers nationwide in 1973, a musical took the country by storm with its offbeat, somewhat radical, contemporary Hippie take on the Gospel of Matthew. The style may have been radical, but the message was timeless—”prepare ye the way of the Lord.” Even today, when I hear the words, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord,” my mind automatically switches to the engaging melody from the musical “Godspell.”
John the Baptist, Jesus’s cousin, with his own radical, offbeat style, preached in the Judean wilderness, calling people to repent of their sins. “I am the voice of the one calling in the wilderness, ‘make straight the way of the Lord.’” (Jn 1:23) John’s life had a single vision: “Prepare!” “Prepare ye the way of the Lord” was his bold proclamation for the people to examine and open their hearts to the coming Messiah. It was meant to foster a favorable environment for Jesus’ arrival and to prepare people in advance to receive Christ’s teachings, which would ultimately and radically change their hearts and lives.
John also had a single message: “Repent!” A simple definition of what it means to **repent is this: to recognize and have true regret for our sins that separate us from God, in a general sense, as well as our specific sins against God; and make a heart decision to turn from the way we are going, and to go the opposite direction, the way that pleases Him. It is like doing an about-face in our lives—to acknowledge that we have sinned, to turn away from our sin, and to set a new course. This timeless message has not changed. Jesus still desires that we invite Him in to take control of our repentant hearts and to allow Him to operate fully in our lives.
Won’t you invite Him in to do that today? How might you set a new course for your life, one that is fully devoted to Jesus? As you reflect on Jesus’ first coming over 2,000 years ago, how might you prepare your heart for Jesus’ second coming?
Dear Heavenly Father, in this first week of Lent, please shine Your light on my heart to reveal anything hidden that separates me from You. Help me break down the walls of resistance and pride that keep me from an attitude of repentance and a changed heart. I ask that You prepare my heart for a new direction in my life on this earth and for Your Kingdom to come. In Jesus’ merciful name, I pray. Amen.
**For further reflection, Psalm 51 offers a scriptural guide to repentance.
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