A popular song among our selections for Wednesday night gathering is "Here I am Lord." The song takes its title from Isaiah 6.
The
prophet is caught up in a vision. He sees God sitting on a throne,
with seraphim flying around praising God. Considering himself unworthy
to be seeing such a sight, Isaiah declares, "I am a man of unclean lips,
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips."
One of
the seraphim takes a burning coal from the altar and touches Isaiah's
lips. "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away,
and your sin forgiven."
When God asks who will go and deliver His message to the people, Isaiah says, "Here I am, Lord. Send me."
The
message he is to share is a bit harsh. Remember this is the first
section of Isaiah, the section where God is telling the people that
their unwillingness to listen will result in their being taken into
captivity by the Babylonians. Isaiah's excitement ("Here and I am, send
me.") may have been tempered when he heard the stern call to obedience
God was entrusting to him. Speaking for God sounds like a great thing
to get to do; until we begin to realize the message God would have us
deliver.
God's Word is always good news. It is always a word of
promise and an invitation to live. It just isn't always the invitation
to continue living as have been living. The word of God strips us of
our pretense and allows us to see the way in which our lives match the
will of God and the ways in which we are deceiving ourselves.
I
love to stand among you all and sing, "I will go, Lord, if you lead
me...." It is an empowering moment in our worship services. I only
hope the power of the moment continues when opportunity presents itself
to speak, on God's behalf.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
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