"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

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