Luke 3:2b-4 …the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, `Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

Preparing for Christmas? That’s what we do as followers of Jesus. I’m not just talking about sending cards and decorating our homes. And the preparation I mean is not going to make you feel anxious and stressed. In fact, if we use Advent to prepare for the birth of Christ, it will have the opposite effect. It will bring calm and peace. It is a readiness of the heart that God desires at his coming. That is why one of the historic prayers for this Advent season says: Stir Up Our Hearts, O Lord, to Make Ready the Way of Your Only-Begotten Son. This is speaking not just of our remembering His first coming, but being ready for His coming again.

Make ready the Way. Prepare the way. Make straight paths for Him. Are you doing that? Perhaps a better question is “How do you do that?” How do you make ready the way? How can we make it possible for everyone to see God’s salvation? There are a lot who have heard of Jesus and rejected Him, but there are also a lot who have never heard or who have been misinformed about who He is and what He has done.

When John the Baptist came on the scene, it says he went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Part of John’s preparation of the way of the Lord was to confront people in their sins and urge them to repent, to turn from them. If you are going to turn from sin, you have to know what it is. So what is sin?

The Greek word most often translated as sin in the New Testament is a term that comes from archery. This Greek word “amartano” means “to miss the mark.” So, sin is when you miss the mark in life. Sin is that which derails us in life. It causes us to get off track and miss the goal. Missing the mark. God says do and you don’t. God says don’t and you do.

When you try to talk to people about sin, many will get very defensive: “You people say it is anything we do.” “You don’t want anyone to have any fun.” They know they have missed the mark, but don’t like to admit it to themselves or anyone else. So they get defensive. Negative reactions from those who feel guilty are a big reason so many people choose not to confront others with their sins.

However, they need to be confronted. It is part of preparing the way for the Lord. John confronts the sin of his hearers in no uncertain terms. He gives a harsh condemnation of their sins. They needed to know what the problem was in order to have it fixed. And John also shares the solution: with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them. (Luke 3:18)

The Good News that John preached is the same Good News we have heard, the same news the angels announced to the shepherds: To you is born this day…a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. The birth of Jesus is worth celebrating, but only because we know what else He did. He gave Himself up for us all. All that sin you and I and everyone else have done had a price. And that is why Jesus came. He paid the price for the sins of everyone when He offered His sinless life on that cross on a hill just outside Jerusalem.

Those who trust in Jesus have been brought to the point in their lives where they have confidence and certainty of salvation because someone shared the message with them. Someone prepared the way for the Lord. For whom are you preparing the way? How will you share this Good News? As we rejoice in the gift God has given again this year, may each of us pray that God will use us to share this wonderful message with someone who has not yet believed in Jesus. Prepare the way!