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By Dean Kelly

The great prophet Isaiah tells of his call by God to be a prophet. He tells of seeing the Lord sitting on a throne, and then of seraphim, each one having six wings. They cried out to one another and said, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:1-7).

Following this awe-inspiring scene the prophet said, “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 6:8). Isaiah would go for God, and he would forge a powerful path in the pages of inspiration. He is known as the Messianic prophet, one who speaks many things about the coming Savior. Isaiah 53 is a beautiful and heart-rending preview of what Jesus would suffer for us on the cross.

What is so significant back in Isaiah 6:8 is the willingness and even urgency that Isaiah felt about doing God’s will. “Here am I, send me” shows his availability for service, and his willingness to serve. 

Today God will not bring us into the presence of some grand vision, like Isaiah had. Today He will not speak directly to us and ask in our hearing, “who will go for Us.” But God does call us to His service. The question is, do we have the servant attitude that Isaiah had?

God calls us today through the agency of His word. Paul says, “to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He calls us to service to teach the world (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20). He calls us to serve others (James 1:26-27). He calls us to follow Jesus’ path (Luke 9:23). 

Won’t you meet me at the cross so that we can go forward, hand-in-hand, with the attitude, “Here am I, send me.”

Dean Kelly is preaching minister at Highland Home Church of Christ.