Saturday, February 2, 2019
Isaiah 6:8 Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?
KEY QUESTIONS FOR A NEW YEAR (4)
So what's the answer to this question? "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" Far too often, our answer is, "Here am I--but God, please send someone else." Isaiah 6:8 is a popular verse used when talking about overseas missions. But God was not asking Isaiah to travel to the other side of the world. God was asking for someone to proclaim His message to the Israelites-- in other words, to the people he rubbed shoulders with every day-- his family, his neighbors, his friends.
There are those among your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and classmates, who are not on the way to heaven. Many of them, if they died today would, frankly, end up in hell. Someone needs to tell them of the Savior's redeeming love, of how He died for them so that they could live forever with Him in heaven. After all, someone cared enough about you to tell you about Jesus and what He did to save you from eternal death. It's not a complicated thing. It's a matter of telling the simple and straightforward message of man's sin and God's grace in Christ.
But our hearts need to be changed and filled with true love for others before we can really begin to be active witnesses to our Savior's death and resurrection. A changed heart is, first of all, a forgiven heart. Isaiah gladly answered God's question by saying "HERE AM I SEND ME!" Yet that was only after he confessed his sin to God and was cleansed of his sin by God. When we experience the forgiving touch of God through Word and Sacrament, we are then moved to share our Savior's love with others. It's God's message of love for us which strengthens within us a true love for others. In the year ahead God will give each one of us opportunities to go to others for Him. Turn to Him and He will also give you the grace to say from the heart: "HERE AM I, SEND ME!"
