Thursday, September 16, 2010
Isaiah 6:5, 6, 8 "I am a man of unclean lips" … "Your iniquity is taken away" … "Here am I! Send me."
ISAIAH: THE VOLUNTEER
Most of us know someone who serving in our armed forces. The dedication and professionalism of our young men and women in uniform is truly amazing, as the recent wars have clearly shown. And, just think, they serve, not because they're forced, but as willing volunteers.
In one sense the Prophet Isaiah was not a volunteer. He was called (drafted) by God to declare Law and Gospel to the nation of Judah. Nevertheless, Isaiah had the heart of a volunteer. When the LORD tapped him on the shoulder, he was ready to serve! "Here am I , send me!"
What made him so eager? Did he consider himself indispensable to the success of God's battle plan to capture souls away from the Enemy? Not at all. Isaiah confessed himself to be a man of unclean lips, as the fact of his sinfulness in contrast to God's holiness was made painfully apparent. If Isaiah ever believed himself to be innately qualified to be one of God's frontline soldiers, those thoughts were quickly crushed.
As the saying goes: God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. Isaiah was qualified because his sins were purged by the promise of a Savior who would be crushed for his iniquities. Isaiah was qualified because God placed a living faith in the prophet's heart prompted by the tender-mercies of his Savior-God, Isaiah was willing to let God use him for whatever purposes God thought best.
So it is with you, dear reader. Of ourselves, you and I have absolutely nothing to offer God. Yet forgiven for Christ's sake, made new by water and the word, daily strengthened by Word and Sacrament, God equips us to go for Him. With all that grace, we, too, are ready to stand up and say: "Here am I. Send me!" What a privilege to offer all that we are, and all that we have, in His service. How incredible that, though He doesn't need us, He can and does work His wonders through us! Dear Lord, make us eager to volunteer whenever you tap us on the shoulder.
