Moved to respond
I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts. (Isa. 6:5)
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me. (Isa. 6:8)
Hello Saints,
What moves you? What gets your “inner you” moved to action? What external stimuli causes you to say, “I gotta do something!” Is it injustice? Poverty? Reading a book, a news article, a testimony? Maybe nothing moves you to question why you do what you do or ask yourself why you do nothing. Do you ever think to yourself, “What am I doing here, with all that I have at my disposal?” and sense the prompting that, “I gotta do something…anything!” Hopefully, complacency and comfort have not set in to the point that we don’t feel anything anymore when we see the suffering of humanity, the injustices, and the need for mercy. Maybe you are content to just write a cheque cause it’s easy and costs nothing in the long run. What is God asking you to do? What should be our response? If we wait and delay long enough, maybe the prompting, the stirring, the heart wrenching angst will leave us and we can carry on with our lives. “No guilt! No condemnation! God, can’t you ask someone else?”
Do you ever get convicted when you read your Bible? Do you ever get convicted when you hear a missionary report on his/her experiences? Do you ever ask yourself how you apply the teachings of Jesus so as not to become a religious pharisee that needs chastisement? Friends, I’m just thinking out loud, wondering if I am really doing what Jesus wants me to do. If you never have that feeling, move on. If you do question why your life seems so different from what a follower of Jesus, a lover of God looks like in the Bible, then keep reading. I’m in that place of being convicted, challenged, telling God, “I’m available for anything” while hoping the call, if He chooses me at all, is not too demanding. I can’t imagine what Isaiah felt when he had the vision of the holiness of God, but I know it ruined him, wrecked him and caused him to feel “destroyed” the Hebrew word means. His undoing, his own sinfulness was quickly taken care of with the purging of his sins (Isa 6:6-7). But in that moment, he not only felt the weight of his own sin, but the corporate sins of his people. The encounter with holy God had revealed how he was part of a people who had neglected to serve the God who rescued them for His glory and purposes. It was/is common for prophets to be made to feel the sinfulness of the people to whom they are called to preach, and to include themselves amongst the guilty. How could they not? In this case, Isaiah’s response is a personal one, “Here I am! Send me.” Going from complacency to action requires an encounter with the living God, a purging of sins, and a choice to turn to obey the voice of the Lord.
The message Isaiah had to give to the people of God was that their ‘worship’ of God had become nothing but empty formality (Isa. 1:10-15; 29:13; Isa. 58). They had neglected justice and mercy, and exchanged practical, hands-on ministry for empty rituals. Jesus had the same message Isaiah did when He confronted the religious leaders of His day, “How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law-- justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things” (Matthew 23:23 NLT). As I reflect on the ministry of Jesus, which He transferred to His disciples, it was never about building an institution, denomination, or even a church. It was about the people…ministering to the lost, the broken, the downtrodden – He came for the sick, not the self-righteous (Luke 4:18; Luke 14:21). Friends! What are we doing? Have we become the self-righteous who build our paneled houses while the Lord’s temple (the people) is neglected? (Haggai 1:4) More sermons, more songs/worship, more church activities, more self-indulgence while neglecting justice, mercy and radical obedience to the commands of Jesus.
I’m on a personal journey of wondering what fulfilling the mission of Jesus is really all about – it’s about making disciples; that’s people! It’s about being uncomfortable as God leads me to go wherever He sends me. I’m currently reading the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who after much reflection and self-abandonment, emphasized people over theology, justice and mercy over religious form and ritual. He took risks; lived on the edge, not the mainstream, in obedience to God. I am deeply provoked by the testimonies of a young missionary family ministering in the hardest, most dangerous parts of the world, facing persecution, torture and death on a regular basis to bring the good news of Christ to the forgotten outcasts – hugging lepers, feeding the neglected, smuggling Bibles into militant Muslim communities, witnessing beloved fellow believers martyred in the streets. I am wrestling with a holy discontent as I gaze upon a Savior who called me to lay down my life, count the cost, give myself totally to the mission of making disciples of the whole world. If I want to find my life, I need to lose it! What does that really mean for us in affluent North America? Oh Lord, Here I am…send me! Do I see myself as a missionary right where God planted me? Can I start with my own mission field: my neighbors, my co-workers, my family and friends? How far will I go? How much will I give? Of how much will I be emptied? Am I willing to die for the cause of making Jesus known, like the many who have gone before me? Please…not another sermon, worship night, prayer meeting, religious ritual unless I am willing to become “undone” for the cause of Christ. Let me see your holiness! Purge me of my sin! Send me afresh on mission into your world! Lord, move me to respond!
Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? (Isaiah 58:6-7)
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27)
Peace
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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