STEPPING UP

 

In the year that king Uzziah died Isaiah the prophet saw “the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.” He also heard the seraphims crying : “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of host: the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah was so awed that he cried out, “Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Then one of the seraphims laid a live coal upon his mouth and said, “Thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” Afterwards he heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isaiah promptly answered, “Here am I; send me.”

 

Isaiah stepped up! At our Sunday evening services for several weeks we have been discussing how we may improve the congregation. The discussion has been good. We have identified some areas in need of improvement. We have had some good suggestions. Now we need to talk about stepping up. The topic for next Sunday evening will be: Who needs to step up? How ought we to support those who do step up? Why are we reluctant to step up? Etc, etc, etc.

 

Some of the great heroes of the Old Testament were at first very reluctant. Moses for example had his excuses but then accepted God’s challenge and became a great leader in Israel. Jonah fled from God when told to go preach to Nineveh but later went and the entire city repented. Can some of us possibly overcome our reluctance?

Claude