Preparing the Way

Just as John the Baptist prepared the way for the Christmas story of Jesus’ birth, he also prepared the WAY for the Kingdom life of Jesus to be lived in us. Jesus spoke about John powerfully ‘forcing’ his way into the Kingdom, but Jesus spoke about this as ‘preparing the way’ for himself to finally release the power of his Kingdom life into us.

The Old Testament often uses the example of one person being taken away so that another person can take their place. The New Testament is about transforming the one person into a new kind of person. Esau/Jacob, Saul/David, John/Jesus.

Matthew 11:11 "Let me tell you what's going on here: No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer; but in the kingdom he came to prepare you for, the lowliest person is ahead of him. For a long time now people have tried to force themselves into God's kingdom. (Message Bible)

Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. (NKJ)

Matthew 11:12 The days of John the Baptist have ushered in a vigourous taking hold of the Kingdom of God up till now, and forceful people have been forcing themselves into it. (CAV)

John the Baptist took heavenly things to himself by earthly force, but Jesus releases the force of heavenly things into us through our faith. The first-stage of preparation life is what you were born with. The second-stage life of the WAY is what you were born for (There is no age boundary). John knew what he had to do – he handed over. John’s disciples came to John wanting to know who he was, in relation to Jesus.

John 3:27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and his speech is of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.

Jesus was letting the people know that the time was coming when instead of having to force your way into the kingdom, His kingdom of authority and rule over all things, would find its way into your heart and its loving powerful force would flow through you. It is a different spiritual energy. It is from above and it lifts you above. It surges into you and subdues you, if you are willing to receive it, and yield to it. God’s kingdom is not passively waiting for people to wander in. It moves through all things and sweeps you along with it. Everything belongs in and to this kingdom. (Wordsworth)

The first voice is us telling ourselves to work harder in our own strength for spiritual and material goals. That is not a bad thing; it is just the lesser thing. The second voice is the bridegroom saying I’m here to help you, to give you rest, but even more productivity, more wisdom, more fulfilled relationships, more appreciation of life’s beauty. The second stage of life, the Way, is concern for the content of the vessel, having it filled from the above/within presence of Jesus, and pouring from it the goodness of God. We can all experience both halves of this full and abundant life. God’s grace So what voice do we hear? One voice must give way to the other. We let him have his voice through us.

First-stage ‘prepare the Way’ life wants to have what it loves – Second-stage ‘Way’ life loves what it has. The first-stage life is necessary, and the world would be a dreary unproductive place without it, and a better-prepared vessel can manage the right contents with more wholeness. We can actually live both halves most of the time. They interplay with each other. But without the second-stage life the world (and the church) can become hectic, frantic, conflicted and even quite scary. Corporate and institutional doing doesn’t often validate or reward second-stage being/new kind of doing.

Second stage doing doesn’t have to judge people harshly like it used to, or have to proclaim or force its opinions on others. It can see its own preparation-stage high energy in others and compassionately accept that, as it accepts its own. This vessel allows God to be the human being/doing He can be through our own lives. Love and relationships rule. This reality is waiting to be discovered in our life circumstances as a wake up ‘call’ to powerful things hidden within us. God hides his ‘getting it right’ in the midst of our ‘getting it wrong’. Only God could think of that. Our faith realizes and discovers this firstly through God’s grace, and secondly through the torch of conscious alert presence.

LINES WRITTEN ABOVE TINTERN ABBEY – William Wordsworth

For I have learned to look on nature, not as in the hour of thoughtless youth;

But hearing oftentimes the still, sad music of humanity,

not harsh nor grating, Though of ample power to chasten and subdue.

And I have felt a presence that disturbs me with the joy of elevated thoughts;

A sense sublime of something far more deeply interfused,

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, and the round ocean And the living air, and the blue sky,

And in the mind of man; a motion and a spirit, that impels all thinking things,

All objects of all thought, and rolls through all things.