Beyond What Words Can Describe

Good Morning,

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Is. 6:6-7 

Few passages of Scripture have captured me like the first 7 verses of Isaiah 6. It is a striking depiction of God’s glory, God’s holiness, and God’s astounding forgiveness. Indeed, there is much depth here we cannot cover this morning. Yet I am compelled to try and drive home the profound truth that lies within this treasured text. In a nutshell, in the midst of awe and brokenness, Isaiah experiences grace and forgiveness he neither asks for or deserves. God took the initiative to redeem Isaiah. He reached down from His lofty position and met Isaiah in his desperate state.

Notice what happened here. Isaiah’s natural response to the realization of his own wickedness, and that of everyone around him, was to confess that fact with his mouth. We see no indication that this response from Isaiah was contemplated. It simply poured forth from his lips in response to the divinely self-evident fact of the gap between man and God.  And God, on His own accord, atones for his shortcomings. Rev. L. Scott Hampy explains it this way: Atonement is where we see love and grace converge in God the Father’s response to the demands of His own holiness. Dr. James MacDonald writes that “God’s holiness demanded that sin be paid for, and then His love compelled Him to pay the price Himself.”

Finally, Ellicott’s commentary amplifies this further: It was at Isaiah’s lips that the sense of sin had stung him, and it was there that he received the cleansing. The seraph laid the hot ember on his lips, and it left about his mouth the fragrance of the celestial incense. He felt that he breathed the atmosphere and purity of heaven. He, too, might now join in heaven’s praise and service, no more an alien, but a member of the celestial choir and a servant of the King. That act of Divine mercy had transformed him. He was a new creature.

You may sense my frustration at attempting to put words to something for which words can never suffice. And perhaps that is the point of our discussion this month. God is above all, through all, in all and beyond all. He defies our full understanding which perhaps is what makes contemplating Him such a rich and glorious pursuit. And when we do so, gratitude cannot help but well up in our hearts and pour forth from our lips.

Teach us to know that we cannot know, for the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God.  Let faith support us where reason fails, and we shall think because we believe, not in order that we may believe. - A.W. Tozer

Question to ponder this week:

1.    Do you need to take time this morning to express gratitude for who God is and what he has done for you?

2.    Has the wonder of God captured your heart? Does it express itself in your worship?

Live on purpose,

Ron Klopfenstein, CPLC