Advent 12---The Blue Ridge Parkway Has a Message

[HKHaugan]

“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him (Mt.3:1-3 TNIV).’”

When the Blue Ridge Parkway was built in the 1930’s in Virginia and North Carolina through the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains, the forests, mountains and valleys were carefully surveyed. It took careful preparation for a long project with a set goal that had three purposes, preserving a way to behold the beauty of Creation for all future generations, putting people to work during the Great Depression and building an accessible road through the mountains. Every detail was worked out so that the 400+ mile road was faithful to traverse and connect the ridge terrain. It was a trailblazing vision, a trailblazing work everyday with those who were the actual trailblazers---surveyors, engineers and the huge labor force of varied skills that included people from all over who were willing to commit to it. A majestic vision for a majestic wilderness that brought out the majesty of what the images of God can accomplish when given the chance to fulfill a vision.

The Blue Ridge vision has a parallel for us to consider. In Jesus Christ God has given us a vision. It is a spiritual vision that shifts our entire being, mind, heart and soul into a spiritual context. Look up. See God. Return the majesty of God’s presence to the hearts of His people. Raise their vision, their lives and their goals to where He is. Through impassable spiritual forests, mountains and valleys God has given us His Son to build a highway to the heart of our God to behold His beauty, the beauty of the heart of His Creation and the beauty of the hearts of His created people. That highway is a spiritual highway. It takes the high road keeping our vision on what He considers the highest ridges and connecting them to one another. Those highest ridges are our hearts and between them are spiritual valleys and forests through which trails must be blazed to connect the ridges. Jesus came to connect those hearts to His Father, to Himself and to each other.

But the valleys and forests have to be navigated. A road has to be built. There have to be rest stops and vistas, places to behold what the heart was made to experience. Between hearts there are the forests of strongholds, valleys of darkness where caves have formed in the inner soul. Surrounding them are boulders of guilt, pride and fear that have piled up over the years.

This is what the Old Testament is all about. It shows us the problems of what the devil and his sin have done to all of us. He has given us the plumb line of His Law to point out what needs traversing. God has sent surveyors called prophets to point out the obstacles to building the highway from one ridge to another, one heart to another and all the ridge hearts to God.

The summation of the ridge plan would find its final expression in a prophet who would be the bulldozer to clear the way, John, son of the priest Zechariah, who would call for the spiritual bulldozer of the heart, repentance, personal repentance of each heart, to be ready to receive the personal connection with God in Jesus the Messiah.

In the New Testament He has shown us the plan to connect each heart. Repentance clears the way through the forests and valleys to reach the Highest Ridge, Jesus, thus opening the way to all the ridges being connected in His Body. He has given His Son to be the One who is our personal connector, the Holy Spirit to empower the connection and Holy Scripture to be our road map.

John baptized with water to signify repentance and readiness for God to do His work in our hearts. Receiving Jesus and letting the Holy Spirit work Him into our minds and hearts is the new highway being built between the ridges, between our hearts and His and between our hearts and the hearts of others.

“John clinched his witness with this: "I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, 'The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' That's exactly what I saw happen, and I'm telling you, there's no question about it: This is the Son of God (John 1:32-34 The Message)."