Isaiah 6:1 – “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a
throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.”
This passage in Isaiah is one of the classics of scripture. It gives us a glimpse inside an encounter between God and man. Isaiah sees the Lord high and lifted up. He sees the seraphim and hears their declarations concerning the holiness of God. He sees the temple filled with smoke. But he not only sees three things happening, he also experiences three things that are equally as powerful. First, there is a profound sense of personal sinfulness in the presence of such a holy God. This causes Isaiah to proclaim, “It’s all over, I am doomed, for I am a sinful man.” (NLT) Secondly, Isaiah receives pardon for his sin through the act of one of the seraphim taking a burning coal from the altar and touching his lips with it. Thirdly, he receives a divine commission as God’s messenger to the people. When it’s all said and done, God wants to know who will go for Him.
Most modern day encounters are usually focused on the person involved getting “blessed.” There’s no mention of Isaiah getting blessed. He’s being sent. For the most part I don’t hear about encounters today that result in a deep awareness of personal sin and a call to go reach people. If we should desire heaven to visit us we should be ready for this type of response. After the resurrection, Jesus’ encounter with the disciples resulted in a “go” message. After millenniums the question still remains, “Who will go?” Will you?