Making Crooked Roads Straight

At church two Sundays ago, we were asked, “With which Bible character do you most identify?”  I thought immediately of John the Baptist.   I love the idea of making crooked roads straight; it’s one of my favorite images of what God’s justice and mercy are all about.   Another characteristic of John the Baptist which I admire is that he not only understood the focus of his mission, but was very clear about who he was not, i.e. he was not Jesus.    There are days when I feel as if I need to step up to the plate more, have more faith, do some miracles, walk on water.  J    And then I remind myself that I’m not Jesus -- not in order to justify passivity, because I know that I am not passive.   I remind myself of that because Jesus’ followers were (and are) empowered to do great things in the Name of Jesus, but we are not encouraged from Scripture to take God’s place. 

How all of this works out in daily ministry can be a little complex.   Today Social Services called about a 13-yr-old girl with a 1-yr-old baby.   The girl was abused by her grandfather.   Mother and baby need a home.    We have had two similar cases at our children’s home, and I feel close to both teenaged mothers and their little girls, so my heart immediately went out to this little girl and her baby.   Could we do something to straighten out the crooked road created by incest?  

Yes, we can do something.   We can offer them a safe haven and the love of Jesus.  However, I have learned that the healing process is different for each person, and that as much as we would like to, we cannot control how long it takes.   We cannot “define outcomes.”   Only the Lord Jesus can transform lives.   We can do all that we can, by His grace, to “make straight the way,” but at the same time we are trusting in God for salvation and liberation.   Mother and child will also have the incredible opportunity of trusting in God.   He can bring healing and freedom if everyone involved is faithfully committed to the process without trying to control, force or define the fruits. 

John the Baptist was a radical disciple, but he wasn’t Jesus.   Living into that Truth sets the Holy Spirit free to turn mustard seeds into mountains, and to straighten the many crooked roads in our world.   May it be so for this young girl and her baby boy.