“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:3, 5-8 NIV)
As we continue to move through the Lenten season, we examine our spiritual life and how we respond daily to God's calling. Do we acknowledge that we have "unclean" hearts and mouths and therefore unworthy/incapable? Do we make light excuses to avoid the committment? Do we ignore the calling, pretending we didn't hear? Do we jump at the chance to serve?
We respond in different ways most likely depending on what we are being called to do. If it is something we want to do, or may show off our talents, we may jump to serve. However, if it requires us to leave our comfort zone, be vulnerable, and sacrifice something, we tend to be more hesitant. Sometimes we actually feel incapable and unworthy for the task.
There is a saying about those God calls he also equips. The Lord will never send you to a task without giving you the necessary skills to complete it. So many times in our humanness we just don't recognize that. We lean on our own perceptions and understanding of the situation.
If only we could be more like Isaiah in these verses to acknowledge our sinfulness, accept forgiveness, and the call out "Here am I, Lord! Send me!"
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