Here I am!!

Also 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." – Isaiah 6v8

Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up. He saw God’s holiness. He lamented his sin and was forgiven and cleansed. Then he heard God cry out ‘Who will I send? Who will go for Us?’

God could have chosen any of a myriad ways to get His word out. He could have emblazoned it across the heavens. He could have angels with trumpets calling out to mankind. He could have implanted His word in men’s hearts.

But He didn’t do that. Instead He called men to reach men. He gave man His word and expected man to give it to others. I am amazed at that privilege. He could have used anything or anyone, but He chose to use us. Not only that, He chose to use the weak, the foolish, and the base things of the world.

So the Lord calls out ‘Who will go?’

Isaiah, freshly made aware of his sinful nature and purged of his sin responded immediately ‘Here I am! Let me go!’

We hear this preached a lot in relation to ‘surrendering to missions.’ I used it myself in that context. I think there is some application there and would not be critical of using this in that context.

However, I think that if we think of the verse only in that context we miss an important part of the message. We all have friends, neighbours, co-workers, and other associates who need to hear the gospel. He has commissioned us to go into the entire world and preach the gospel to every creature. We often forget that all the world and every creature includes our own Jerusalem and the people that are closest to us.

Who will God send, and who will go to them? The answer should be obvious. Who else is going to say ‘Here am I!’ and go to these people?

‘Who will go?’ is not just a missionary call. It is a call for each and every one of us.