Prepared By Repentance

Prepared by Repentance

The Jewish people remembered the prophecy found in Malachi 4:5: “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives.” They were on the lookout for this One who would be like the prophet Elijah.

Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, remembered Malachi’s prophecy, especially when the angel of the Lord said to him about his son,

He will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly. (Luke 1:16-17)

Did you catch what John the Baptist would do? He would prepare people for the coming of the Lord Jesus. And how would he prepare them? He would “turn” them. He would turn them away from rigorous law-keeping and empty ritual toward their God.

But shouldn’t God’s people naturally have their hearts turned toward God? Yes, we should. But we don’t. The old hymn captures it perfectly: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.” We have hearts that, left on their own, turn away from God.

But God has not left us on our own. Not only has he come to us in the person of Jesus, he sent ahead of Jesus one who would help to prepare our hearts to receive him, one who would call us to repentance. God has extended mercy that frees us from the fear of judgment.

Just as John prepared the people for the coming of Jesus, so also we prepare for the coming of Jesus in our lives when we embrace John’s message of repentance. Repentance means turning the direction of our lives and the affections of our hearts so that we become oriented to God and love the things he loves. Repentance is altering what we rely on in life, what we hope in, what we are counting on for salvation.

God has turned his heart toward us in Jesus Christ, and he’s inviting us to turn our hearts toward him in repentance.

I hear the voice calling, “Prepare the way for the Lord,” and that’s what I want to do. Show me where my heart is hard toward you or turned away from you so I can welcome you gladly into my life.