Day 4 - Maybe We Need to Get Over Ourselves

Maybe We Need to Get Over Ourselves

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

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.”

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!”


Isaiah 6:1-8

Sometimes we pray to God, asking him to use us in his kingdom. Then, when someone asks us to help in a ministry, we tell them, “That’s not my thing” or “I don’t like that.” That’s asking God to provide a place for you and then telling him it’s not good enough. Yikes. Choosing to live a life rooted in Love First means we serve where we are needed with a loving heart. Because it’s not about us—it’s about others. It’s about loving God and loving others. It’s not about how comfortable we are. It’s not about being with our friends. It’s not about deserving anything. It’s about loving God and loving others.

Choosing Love First is a commitment to shining like Christ to our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, the people who serve us, the people we serve, anyone who sees us...whether we see them first or not. In fact, Love First may mean I don’t prefer something, but because it shows Christ to someone else, I’ll go ahead and do it cheerfully with a loving heart.

In the last few decades, a phrase has emerged in casual conversations that has a truthful message: Get over yourself. In order to be the aroma of Christ to others, in order to live our lives Love First, in order to show God’s love to our community/neighborhood/parish/whatever, maybe we need to get over ourselves. Maybe we need to recognize that God’s picture is bigger than my picture or your picture. And Love First will probably mean everything isn’t done my way.

But isn’t that the point? In today’s scripture reading, Isaiah realized that he would never be good enough, clean enough, whatever enough...but God sent an angel to let him know he could be enough. And when God asked for someone to take him—take his word—to others, Isaiah knew he could do it. He probably wasn't comfortable doing it. He may not have ever done it that way. But Love First helps us get over ourselves.

Your Mission
Use the phrase “Help me to get over myself” in your prayers today. Be aware of situations where you demand to get your own way.