Yes, I will
/And I said, “Here am I; send me!” - Isaiah 6:8
The call of Isaiah is dramatic, including six-winged flying seraphs, an earthquake and smoke. Isaiah shrinks back in insecurity, realizing he was in the presence of God, saying, “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 the King, the Lord of hosts!” But then one of those awesome/scary seraphs grabbed a hot coal from the altar and flew at Isaiah, touching his lips with the coal and saying, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.”
After all this, Isaiah heard God calling, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah responds, “Here am I. Send me!” I often wonder if that is an exclamation point of excitement or simply of terror.
My mother would sometimes say to me as a moody teenager, “What are you waiting for? An engraved invitation?” She would say this when she was trying to get me to get up and attend to my chores. It was usually enough to get me going, but it was nothing compared to God’s call to Isaiah! Maybe if seraphs and earthquakes and hot coals had been involved, I would have taken the compost out even more quickly!
As people of faith, we are all called to step up and accept God’s invitation to serve. We’re sometimes even called to do things we don’t think we can do, or would rather leave to others to take care of. Most day, truth be told, it would be easier and more comfortable just to attend to our own affairs.
We’re all being invited to share God’s love, to stand up for what is just and right, to care for others in need. And even if the call is not as dramatic as Isaiah’s we’ll know when we’re being asked to step up. Maybe it’s an engraved invitation, or just a call for volunteers in the eNews. Maybe it’ll be a thunderstorm or fire, or maybe, it’ll just be a budding awareness that something needs attention and you’re the one being called to attend to it.
If you’ve sent out invitations for anything recently, you know that hardly anyone answers RSVP’s anymore. It’s kind of a lost art. People don’t seem to want to commit to things in advance. But the invitation from God is always there, waiting for us to open it. Whether it’s a burning coal, an engraved invitation or just a still small voice, however you’re called, I pray that you’ll be able to stand with Isaiah and say, “Yes I will!”
