As the holiday season winds down, many people often begin preparing for a new year. Often, people will think about what they want to accomplish in the new year and create goals, or resolutions, or maybe think about new habits they want to develop. We spend a lot of time planning and preparing to do things that, if we are being honest, we drop pretty quickly, but how often do we really think about preparing our hearts?
There are lots of things we could do to prepare our hearts, but as I was reading through my advent reading plan, I studied Isaiah 40, which prophesies about John the Baptist, that he will be “A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” (Vs. 3)
Commentator David Guzik wrote of this passage, “The idea of preparing the way of the Lord is a word picture because the real preparation must take place in our hearts.” This statement led me to thinking about how we actually go about preparing our hearts for the Lord. I was thinking about how the Jews in the OT consecrated themselves through rituals that signified purity whenever they were waiting on God to do something on their behalf. I wondered what the NT version of this consecration would be, so I began looking at NT passages that were directing the people to repentance.
Luke 3 recounts the story of John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus. He was asked by some in the crowd what they should do to prepare for the Messiah.
In stark contrast to the Pharisees, who were confident in themselves to secure their salvation, the crowds asked John what they should do.
John’s response surprised me just a bit, because he didn’t tell them to pray or read scriptures or engage in some type of intellectual endeavor. He told them to do something, to “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” Repentance is much more than being sorry for your sin. The word really holds the idea of a change in thinking leading to a change in the way we live. Evidence of repentance is shown in our love for others through action, in our effort to keep God’s commands, and in the way we handle our resources, time, and gifts.
John goes on to tell specific people in the crowd what that looks like for them. He states that “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” (Vs. 11) If we have more than we need, we should consider giving to someone who is in need.
To the tax collectors he said, “Don’t collect any more than you are required to.” (Vs. 13) Tax collectors were known to collect well above what the people actually owed.
To the soldiers he said, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse falsely—be content with your pay.” (Vs. 14) The Roman soldiers had power and could use their authority to force people to give them extra money.
John gave the people simple, practical ways they could behave to show their repentance was authentic. He showed them that repentance and living the life God asks is more than just an intellectual endeavor. It should show up in every part of life.
“Integrity in the ordinary things is still a mark of true repentance. We sometimes think God requires us to do great or impossible things to demonstrate repentance. Often, He instead looks for integrity in the ordinary things.”
David Guzik
John called for justice, righteousness, and mercy. Micah 6:8 tells us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. This is what the Lord requires of His people. The point in preparing our hearts is not only for ourselves, but so that we are prepared to do the Kingdom work God has called us to.
We prepare for many things…retirement, sickness and accidents that may never come. We might prepare for an athletic event, a test, or a career. These are all good things to prepare for, but do we prepare for these things that won’t last more than we prepare for Kingdom work? There are so many things we prepare that may never be needed, but we can rest assured knowing that if we prepare our hearts for Kingdom work it will not be in vain.
Some people prepare for a new year or new season of ministry by fasting. As I was studying this passage in Luke 3, I found that it was cross referenced with Isaiah 58: 6-7, which says,
“Is [fasting] not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
It seems that fasting is much more than self-denial to seek a breakthrough for yourself. Denying ourselves food, entertainment or other things gives us an opportunity to take what we have, what we would normally keep for ourselves, and give to those in need. The time we might normally spend preparing meals or doing things for ourselves can be used to do kingdom work.
If we keep reading in Isaiah 58, verse 8 does give a promise that “then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fall.”
These promises were made specifically to the Israelite people, and because we are under a new covenant with Christ, I’m always hesitant to look at something like this as a blanket promise for all people at all time. But we do see in the NT Jesus teaching the principle of sowing and reaping, and so at the very least I think we can take this as a principle to follow. And if we follow this principle, God will provide for us. The way He does that is up to Him. I think of the Proverb that says “Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” And I think that often it is in serving others we find the joy that leads to peace.
In his guide to spiritual growth, Father Evan Armatas (of the Eastern Orthodox tradition) states that “Christ’s teaching on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving forms the basis for our spiritual life as Christians. These three disciplines lead to our transformation, and they are the basis for the life of the believing community, the Church.”(pg. 6) The reason these particular disciplines are crucial is because they make us like Christ, who spent much time in prayer with His Father and gave everything He had, right down to His very life. Fasting can keep us from overindulging in the pleasures of the world while at the same time increasing our need to find our sustenance and provision in Him.
Almsgiving, often translated as mercy, requires much more than giving our resources; it includes giving our time, but also identifying with the pain of those we are helping, feeling their pain. We are called to carry one another’s burdens, and this requires a strong awareness of each other’s pain. This necessitates being in close proximity to the one you are helping. The parable of the Good Samaritan expresses this idea well. (Luke 10:25-37) The priest and the Levite—both who would have served in some capacity in the temple—passed by the man who had been robbed, beaten, and left for dead. The Samaritan, a natural enemy of the Jews, came along and did what the priest and Levite failed to do. He showed compassion to the man without regard for who he was. He saw a need and showed love by his actions as he tended to the wounds of the man, carefully carried him to a place to stay, and made provision (in monetary form) for his care and recovery. Just offering money would not have been helpful in this situation. The greater need in this situation was for physical care.
Acts of service are meaningless without a heart right with God behind it. But there’s a mistake I’ve often made by concluding that if I’m doing something I don’t feel like doing, I am doing it without a right heart, in a legalistic manner, and therefore it is pointless for me to do. I’m learning more and more that this is not the case. I doubt Jesus “felt like” hanging on a cross. But He did it out of His love for His Father and for us. There are many things God requires of us as followers that we don’t feel like doing. We do these things, though, out of our love for God. Many times feelings will follow our actions. So even if we don’t feel like giving, if we choose to do it out of our love for God, He will be pleased and we will likely find ourselves experiencing abundant joy.
In my upcoming Bible study, Letters from John, I write about Christian hospitality. One thing that I discovered about Christian hospitality is that it seeks to offer the best of what we have, not just our leftovers. In the past when I was donating food to different programs, I would often go through my pantry and give the things we had not used and likely would never use. This was not giving my best nor was it sacrificial in any way. It certainly wasn’t a bad thing to give away something that I wasn’t going to use, but giving without sacrifice does not change us in the same way that giving with sacrifice does.
As we prepare our hearts for the new year, let us consider what God may be asking us to do. If fasting is part of how you begin your year, consider how you can incorporate sacrificial giving of your time, resources, energy, and emotions, meeting the needs of others in the process along with spending time in prayer and denying yourself food and/or other things you may cut out for a time.