July 13

God's Challenge To Man

I heard the voice of the Lord. saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. — Isa 6:8

From the midst of Heaven there comes to our earth this cry for help, an appeal from the Eternal Trinity: “Who will go for us!” It reminds us of the last commission of our Lord to His disciples, that they should go into all the world, and preach His Gospel to every creature. The Seraphim may minister to those who have become the heirs of salvation, but only those who have been redeemed from among men have the high privilege of being called to the supreme work of redemption.

Notice the preparation for responding to that appeal. The vision of the Eternal: “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne.” Suddenly the material temple, in which Isaiah was probably worshipping, gave place to the eternal, the altar and the laver to the Throne of God; the cloud of incense, to the skirts of glory that filled the air; the choir of Levites, to the bands of the Seraphim that engirdled the sapphire throne. And above all, he beheld the glory of Christ (Joh 12:41).

This led to the vision of his own heart: “Woe is me, for I am undone.” It is when a man reaches the snowline that he realizes the comparative impurity of the whitest white that earth can produce. Probably there was no one in all Jerusalem who lived nearer to God than Isaiah, but when he learned that, in the estimation of the Seraphim, God was thrice holy; when he saw them veil their faces in adoration; when he discovered that the whole universe was filled with God, then he remembered the hidden evil of his own heart, and cried out “I am unclean!” Not a moment intervened between his confession and the cleansing of his iniquity, and he was able to say: “Send me.”

Have you heard that cry for help from the heart of Christ? Are you seeking to enter into His yearning love for the souls of men? He says to each one of us: “Could ye not watch with Me one hour?” Give yourself to Him that you may be used in His service: “Here am I, send me, use me.”

Prayer

Lord, grant us ears to hear, eyes to see, wills to obey, hearts to love; then declare what Thou wilt, reveal what Thou wilt, command what Thou wilt, demand what Thou wilt. Amen.