Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten Season for those who are Christ-followers—a season of spiritual preparation for Resurrection Sunday. Believers engage that preparation through the more intentional practice of various spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, Scripture reading, confession, meditation, contemplation, fasting, journaling, self-denial, and acts of love. The goal of Lenten preparation and practice is to clear the road for God to work transformation in one’s life—the kind of transformation represented by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death to new life.
In Matthew 3:2-3, Scripture quotes John the Baptist as saying, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” It also tells us that “The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, ‘He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’” These two verses represent a life-giving prescription for the preparation associated with the Lenten Season: Repent. Prepare the way. Clear the Road.
The word “repent” may be one of the most misunderstood words in the Bible. Biblical repentance is a gorgeous concept. It is much deeper and more profound than the English words repent and repentance tend to suggest. In Biblical Greek, “repentance” has to do with a mighty change in mind and heart and spirit and life as a result of the Spirit of God. It has to do with the rearranging of the whole inner world of a person as a result of God transforming a life. Biblical repentance doesn’t just relate to looking back on one’s sins with sorrow, but to looking forward regarding one’s life with hope in the power of God to change one’s life.
The beauty of this passage in Matthew 3:2-3 lies partly in the fact that it not only exhorts the believer to personal revolution because the kingdom of heaven is near, it declares two primary ways to live out repentance: “prepare the way” and “clear the road.”
We can think of “preparing the way” for Christ as simply being intentional about our relationship with God. This involves thought. It involves planning. If I’m going to clear the road for Jesus to come more deeply into my life and to take over my life, I need to intend to do that and to make a plan for it.
We can think of “clearing the road” as simply our active participation with God in removing the obstacles between us and a deeper relationship with God. “Clearing the road” has to do with engaging the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life. For example, the acts of self-denial that many Christians engage during the Lenten Season are intended to clear the road for a deeper relationship with God.
Repent. Prepare the way. Clear the Road. Three elements of a life-giving prescription for not only the preparation and practice associated with the Lenten Season, but for living the Christ life. And it’s in living the Christ life that we become like Christ.
