Calling
(Isaiah 6:1ampsim8)
The Movie, A Job Who Is near Us is about Deacon Lee fighting against colon cancer in addition to his mothers sudden death and his wife Deaconess O fighting against her hematologic malignancy. At dawn of September 16th, 2018, I was in a Korean church in Seattle. There, after hearing the news of his death, I turned on the recording of his testimony. Thus Deacon Lee carried out his mission to the very last moment. Lets think about Gods calling for us.
1. The time of crisis is an opportunity. King Uzziah died. He reigned Judah for 52 years as a powerful king who brought unprecedented prosperity since his crowning at 15. At first, he kept his faith sincerely, yet as he became powerful, he became conceited and overstepped his authority into priesthood. Finally, he got leprosy for officiating a sacrifice and died in his detached palace. Isaiah had already received Gods calling in chapter 1. Yet, despite pointing out peoples sins according to Gods revelation, he needed a deepened calling which he got when he saw Gods exalted throne and the train of his robe filled the temple in chapter 6. That was after King Uzziah died. Isaiah didnt make a fuss at his crisis. Instead he prostrated himself flat in the temple and saw the Lord. The temple matters. By staying in the structure of our temple where we meditate on the Word, endure, pray, and repent, we can see Gods throne exalted higher than our trials.
2. We need to cover ourselves rather than show off. Seraphs are the six-winged angels of God. They hide their face with two wings, which means no intercepting Gods glory. Likewise, before God, we need to conceal our labor or service instead of taking any credit to ourselves. We long for peoples recognition for our appearance, devotion, and service. Yet we need to be ashamed of this nature and hide our boasting through QT.
3. We need the glory of the Trinity. Gods calling calls for our consecrated heavenly values. Thus the seraphs cried out 'holy, holy, holy' before Isaiah. The hidden will of God and his providence was revealed through the Son, as the tiny fetus in a woman! Likewise, when we reflect the Providence at our lowest point, God supports us through the effective power of the Holy Spirit. The first and last of the Trinity is holiness. So it was with me. The Holy Spirit, watching me wiping the floor with a rag damp with tears, helped me keep my marriage and filled me with Gods glory. This is how the Trinity works in us. Instead of shouting holiness. we need to lower ourselves, trusting in the ministry of the Trinity. Holiness comes through the balanced rendering of our heavenly and earthly languages.
4. We need a community whose members respond to one another. Our sharing and application in our small groups are like the seraphs thundering voices while the liveliness in our worship service is like the moving threshold of the temple and the cloud that filled the temple. The threshold of our church is low. Its open to everyone. In it, there are many wounded people. Thats why its full of commotion and the cloud of the Holy Spirit. Deacon Lee kept attending his small group worship even while receiving his 28 anticancer treatments, saying that each meeting was so precious because there was no telling how many more times he could attend it. He also said that he wanted to be a small group leader after finding out Gods calling for him.
5. Accept that we are the man of unclean lips. After watching Gods presence and glory, Isaiah said 'Woe to me! I am ruined!' It was because his lips were unclean, that is, he was a sinner. Likewise, we need to be totally naked before God. Isaiah must have seen his viewpoints and values total shattered before the Lord. Isaiahs utterance was the confession of the one who stood before the glory of God through his total death.
6. Enjoy the grace of Gods forgiveness through a live coal upon our lips. After hearing Isaiahs confession that he was doomed because his lips were unclean, God made his lips clean through a live coal from the altar. Thus God forgives our sins after hearing our confession. The prerequisite of Gods calling is watching our tongue. Without being forgiven by God, we cannot control our tongue. It really hurts our lips to put the live coal of the Word or the prescription from our small group. Even though it hurts us, we need to say 'Yes. You are right, Lord!' Thats how we let the living spirit come within us. Repentance is the supreme human emotion.
7. Listen to the voice of the Lord. Our volunteering work should follow Gods calling. Isaiah received Gods calling after confessing his sins and being forgiven them by God. Notice the order of the process. After hearing Gods whispering 'Who will go for us?', Isaiah instantly responded 'Here am I, Lord, please send me!' Thus his response had changed. Deacon Lee confessed that he was able to fight against his cancer thanks to his small group which empowered him. He said if he could have one more day, he would devote himself the more to his holiness. Till the last moment of his life, he denied himself morphine in order to hear the Word with a clear mind. Even non-Christians say that the Movie, A Job Who Is near Us touched their soul. Some of them commented that it urges Korean churches to grow more. Even though he left the world, the track of his tremendous calling is left behind with us. Calling is not something special. We meet it in our home, work place, and every place around us, wherever we are called by God. May God bless us to find our calling in our own place, listen to the Word, and fulfill our ministry every day in his grace!
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!' (Is 6:8)
