Worshipping the God of All NationsSample

Day 3–God Is a Sending God

Begin by prayerfully reading Isaiah 6:1-8

God is the God of all creation. In the context of missions, we often talk about how God desires to reach all nations and how nobody is excluded when it comes to his redeeming love. However, God's glory is revealed in everything that he has created. As Christopher Wright explains in his award-winning book The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative,

"'The fullness of the earth' is a way of talking about the whole rich abundance of the created order, especially the nonhuman creation . . . So the seraphim recognize and celebrate the glory of God in the fullness of the earth. That which manifests the glory of God is the teeming abundance of his creation. The 'earth is full’ of God's glory because what fills the earth constitutes (at least one dimension of) his glory" (2006, 406).

God created this world, and it is part of his missional purpose to restore all things, regain paradise, and make all things new again—the way they were before Adam and Eve sinned against their creator. There is a stark contrast between God’s holiness and humanity’s sinfulness. Given this reality, we can easily feel unworthy or unfit for God’s calling. The good news is that God is not only our creator but also our redeemer, and as such, he has made a way to deal with our sin, our shame, and our inadequacies. Isaiah received his calling into ministry after catching a glimpse of who God really is. In the heavenly realm, God’s perfect character and supreme purity are constantly being acknowledged (Rev. 4:8), and whenever we gain this kind of perspective, it has the power to transform our lives.

Reflection and Application

• When was the last time that you perceived God’s glory within his creation?
• Do you sense that God is calling and sending you? Why or why not?