"Prepare Ye - Make Straight!"

"PREPARE YE! - MAKE STRAIGHT!"

Luke 3:5 (and Isa 40:4,5!)-"Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;" Every "valley, filled";

Hmmmmm! What comes to mind when we use the analogy of a "valley"? A depression? Something negative? Something empty? That needs "filling"? How about our identities? Do we all need "yet-to-become"? Do we "hunger" to "know" & be "known", to belong? Luke 6:21-"Blessed are ye that hunger ("valley"?) now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep ("depression"?) now: for ye shall laugh."

Luke 1:53-"He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away." Matthew 5:6-"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." The word "fill" is most often used for: 1-"food" or 2-"spirit" (of God, or evil). Speaking to the issue of "spirit", Jesus says in Matthew 23:32,33; "Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?"

So we see both "hunger & thirst" (of righteousness) and "grasping lust" (for evil control="damnation") being satisfied ("filled up"!). And we see Jesus encouraging the "filling up" of each! Why? To what end? The answer is; "the coming of the Lord"; i.e., the cross! Both find complete expression, fulfillment and exhaustion at the cross! And only then is Peace made possible!

Now on to "mountains brought low": A "mountain" is both obstacle and goal (depending on perspective). And when God speaks of "low" He always refers to humiliation/humility. A spiritual "mountain", therefore, could be any "giant" in our "land" which needs conquering or overcoming if we are to claim peaceful possession (restful dominion) of our promised "end" (fulfillment). Covetous-Pride comes to mind as the single greatest hurdle our sin-sick flesh represents as a "mountain" which must be brought "low".

But as a "goal" or "prize", Humility might be our best "mountaintop" experience of the Spirit! Maybe that's what Jesus was referring to in Matthew 17:20, "...for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." So Grace is sufficient for our "flesh-thorn", and Faith is sufficient for our spiritual "mountains"!

Now "crooked" must be "straightened": Does "straight" mean without detour? No substitutions or counterfeits? No delays? No distractions? Psalms 5:8 "Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face." So "straight" refers to God's "Way"! [Disciplined!] Hmmmmm!

Hebrews 12:13 "And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed." Here we find a connection between "paths" (ways) and the (sick) "feet" (lame or healed, they all start out flesh-sick!). So we see that only spiritual "feet" ("healed", or whole) can travel spiritual "paths", "lest they (being "lame") be turned out of the way" (no "flesh" allowed!). ["It is for DISCIPLINE that you have to ENDURE..."-He12:7; Just as Jesus Said, "Save ->*IF*<- ye ENDURE [by His Discipline!] unto the END!"Mt14:14, Mk13:13]

Isaiah 45:2-"I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight:" Now we see God as our "vanguard" literally "making straight" our way before us! Walking the "walk" (Way) in front of (or leading) us (by example for us to OBEDIENTLY Follow!).

Isaiah 42:16-"And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight." Jeremiah 31:9-"They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will CAUSE them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble:"

Matthew 7:13,14-"Enter ye in at the strait [Disciplined!] gate: for wide [rebellious!] is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow [difficult, hazardous] is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Different spelling in the English, but a fascinating connection in the Greek! "Straight"=Gr#2117=(level, true, at once {as "straight away"}, immediately): and "strait"=Gr#4728=(narrow {from obstacles about}, ->fr P.R.#2476=to stand, abide, appoint, bring, continue, covenant, establish, hold up, etc. {Disciplined}).

So Jesus says our Way is a narrow "squeeze", difficult, and littered with obstacles (rocks, potholes, mountains) to overcome! No wonder He has to forge our way and lead us through! We've also seen this road is sometimes very "dark" and that we're "blind"! (Good thing we're "yoked" to Christ!). So "crooked" is made "straight" the hard Way - one TRUST at a time!

Now on to "rough" and "smooth": The best I can make out, these words are uncommonly used in scripture. "Rough" is used predominately for "harsh" or "severe". "Smooth" is used even less. It cannot mean "without effort", but we may find a clue in what Jesus means in Matthew 11:29,30-"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

This Greek word rendered "light" is #1645=(easy, or light as in weight, or less, smaller than). Jesus is speaking to those "heavy ladened" with burdens. Could "rough"="burdens", and "smooth"="light"? Does this mean we will be given the Comforter and His Peace which "passes our understanding", and His Love which "surpasses our knowledge" so that our predicted "rough ways" might be made "yoke-able" because of Whom we're "bearing" with? God knows!

But one thing shines forth clearly as we view God's Will-for-us in Jesus Christ. God has made a Way Through the "wilderness" of our flesh through the "renting" of His "veil" (flesh)!

Having walked this Way before us, He bids us now "Follow!". If we thought it hard to "Come Unto", it is surely hard to "Follow"! However, if we also found (at the cross, to our Eternal relief) HE had done it all, so we will also come to see He was with us, in it, behind everything, and way out in front of us, all the time!

After all, He's not only our Way and Joy, but our PRIZE! Then "valleys", "mountains", "crooked", "straight", "rough" or "smooth".............I'M WITH HIM! Jn 3:30-"He must increase, but I must decrease." - John the Baptist

NO SHALOM (SON = WAY) + NO AGAPEO (FATHER = HOME)