from “I” to “We”

Thursday December 9th, Matthew 3: 1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” How do we personally and corporately prepare the way? What are the rough places that need to be leveled in our lives personally and in our lives corporately? We often focus on the “I” in needing to make the rough places straight how about the “We” in making the rough places straight? In what ways do we look at what someone else is doing and since it is not what we need to do, judge them? What do “we” need to do to set or to make straight the paths in our lives? Do “we” perhaps make the paths straight by dealing with justice issues like working homeless poor, unemployment, affordable housing, prevention programs that lessen the need for more expensive prisons, the growing gap between haves and have not’s, …………etc, etc, etc? When we focus on the “I” then the righteousness we seek can easily become self-righteousness and even John had enough of that to deal with. God calls us to move our righteous seeking from “I” to “We” and in the process do justice and do the will of God.