Living in the Spirit

May 24, 2021

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen King, the Lord of hosts!’

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ 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!’

Have we seen the King, the Lord of hosts? Where? Where do we see God at work in our lives or the lives of others? Or are we like Saul, a devout Pharisee of Pharisees? He never broke the law or missed a worship service or a class and paid his tithe on time in the proper amount.  He was diligently trying to rid the world of those pesky Christ-followers claiming Jesus was the Messiah, claiming he died to save all of God’s children. Saul even stood at the side, and approvingly watched Stephen, a Christ-follower, being stoned to death. Saul soon left Jerusalem to continue his work protecting his tradition among the people of Damascus when he had a direct encounter with Jesus Christ and was forever changed.

Few have such a direct encounter with the Lord, but we all have a call from God to serve. The above scripture describes Isaiah’s experience with the understanding that God was calling him to speak God’s truth to the people of Israel. Isaiah, at first, could not see in himself the skills it would take to answer that call as he was a man of unclean lips being sent to a people of unclean lips. God cleansed him of his fear and self-doubt, enabling Isaiah to answer Hear am I; send me!

We each were created with skills that are necessary to establish God’s Kingdom in this world. We need to pray for guidance in finding our niche and work with all our energy and courage to fulfill the task set before us. Yes, we do need to worship and study and support the church’s ministry, but that is just the foundation. Our calling is to tell and show the whole world about God’s love as we love our neighbors across the lands until God’s Kingdom is realized.

Prayer: Lord, open our minds and hearts to seek our calling and grant us the courage to fulfill it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.