Isaiah 6:6-8
But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.” I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?” I answered, “Here I am, send me!”
Isaiah is experiencing an encounter with God, and finding out that He is merciful beyond imagining. An experience that began with overwhelming awe and “Woe is me”, is being transformed into an invitation of service to the Most High God. Isaiah did not earn the forgiveness of his sin, it was the “live coal” that did so at the direction of the Lord. This is a picture of grace; grace that comes swiftly to us as we stand in fearful desperation, needing what we are unable to accomplish alone. Yet that grace, realized and available because Christ offers Himself upon the altar once and for all, does even more than cleanse, it is the conduit by which we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Isaiah is met with a call, as are we. “Whom will I send?” Surrender your own efforts, and respond to the invitation He has offered to all in Christ.