I was greatly intrigued by the taxidermied cheetah laying on the table.

I was a child walking through the foyer where our missionaries displayed their cultures, their ministries, and their sign-up sheets. Our church Missions Conference was designed to motivate people to serve the Lord. At my childish height, I was looking that cheetah directly in the eyes.   

The mouth was drawn back and the teeth exposed in a ferocious growl. The skin was flat and smooth with a green felt backing. The animal was beautiful. That table garnered all my interest.

I mention my age because it helps orient you to the era about which I write. That was the era of cherished hymns from hymnals. One particular hymn has stayed with me over the years. It has remained in my memory not because of the melody or the beauty but because of the words. And not because the words were exactly inspiring. Perhaps you knew the song titled So Send I You.

Verse One: So send I you to labor unrewarded, to serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown, to bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing—So send I you to toil for Me alone.

Unpaid—what about expenses? Unloved—how sad! Unsought—that’s ministry, right? Unknown—we must remain humble. As noted, not exactly inspirational.

As a child, I was confused by those words. Our Sunday School teachers taught us about the courage of Esther, the adventures of David, the loyalty of Ruth, and the boldness of Paul! These heroes of the faith seemed motivated by loving God in their service. The inspiration of the song seemed to be some kind of martyr complex, not gratitude and love.

To be fair, I learned that Margaret Clarkson wrote that song while in a gold-mining camp in Ontario, Canada. She was completely isolated from Christian fellowship, lonely, and serving as a schoolteacher at a young age. Her feelings were strong and a bit despairing. She seems to have projected them on to the eternal impact of the words of Jesus in John 20:21. I cannot fault her.

But as I grew older, those words seemed at odds with our motivation to respond to God’s mission. He has called all of us to joyfully be salt and light in this world, wherever we are, as we go.

I find more rousing motivation to joyfully serve God on the basis of love and loyalty in the story of Isaiah. I find at least three elements that serve as impetus for serving our Lord in these verses (6:1-7).  

Awe: Isaiah was in awe of being given a vision of God’s holiness.
Conviction: Isaiah was deeply convicted by his own sinfulness.
Redemption: Isaiah was cleansed and forgiven of his sin by God.

The Lord needed a volunteer. He put out a request. Isaiah could not be restrained in his reply:

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 6:8

 Isaiah gives every believer in Jesus Christ a pattern to follow when it comes to service.

Whether your opportunity to serve is global, in Conroe, or even in the children’s elementary classes at Conroe Bible Church, our realization is always, “I was a sinner deserving of God’s wrath and Christ in His love redeemed me, cleansing and forgiving me.” His loving action on our behalf is our ultimate motivation.

We must not let desire, time, effort, energy, “fit,” or any other worldly motivation prevent us from responding to the call of Christ.

“Whom shall I send?” May we readily answer His call with our lives out of love and gratitude.

Love and blessings,
Dave