Wednesday, February 5, 2003
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Wednesday, February 5, 2003 |
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Acquiring a purpose through the tragedy By JOHN HATCHER "In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe filling the temple. "Seraphim stood above him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. "And one called out to another and said, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.' "And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. "Then I said, 'Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.' "Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. "He touched my mouth with it and said, 'Behold this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.' "Then 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 6: 1-8) As America and Israel experienced our loss, the text detailing Isaiah's call came to mind as a source of comfort and direction. Uzziah, by most of history's records, was a good king. When he died for obvious reason Isaiah found himself in church exactly the same place where millions of Americans found themselves 24 hours after the shuttle disaster. While in church to find some reason and rhyme for life, Isaiah was caught up not in his grief but in the glory of the Lord. He was totally absorbed by the experience of God's holiness: angels flying, a robe with its train as long as the temple was long, the shaking of the temple as if an earthquake hit, and smoke filling the temple. It was awesome and mighty. In the context of holiness, Isaiah discovered afresh his personal sinfulness. He said his lips were unclean. His lips had spoken words and expressed thoughts brought to judgment in the light of the glory of the Lord. That's what happens to us. As tragedy strikes and we find ourselves in the context of holiness to help understand, we discover, also, our iniquity when compared to the holiness of God, Isaiah not only becomes aware of his own iniquity, but also of his fellow human beings: "I live among a people of unclean lips." Indeed, as we attend houses of worship in an attempt to find meaning for our lives, we begin to question the righteousness of the corporate life of our country. Do we need to change some of our ways in America? Have we taken God out of our good times only to turn to turn to him in our bad times? Then, it gets personal for Isaiah. He hears a call: "Whom shall I send and who will go for us?" The sovereign God invites whomever to respond to his call for service. God, even today, calls for men and women to hearken to his voice and enter a pathway of service, duty, and purpose. Isaiah, in his grief but more importantly, in his worship, responds and says, "Here am I, send me." Through the tragedy, our hearing seems to be tuned to the voice of God. To what is God calling you? Yes, perhaps God is calling you to become a missionary in faraway land; but he also may be calling you to love your neighbors enough to make them your friends. Please don't let this, another tragedy, come and go without responding to God and begin to fit into his purposes for your life!
John Hatcher is pastor of Outreach International Center 1091 South Jeff Davis Drive Fayetteville, Georgia 30215 770-719-0303 |
