Here am I

The answer is "here am I"---the words that Isaiah spoke when the Lord asked "Whom shall I send and who shall go for us?"

I have wrestled with this question--wanting to answer like Isaiah, fearing what that might mean. 

Interestingly enough, the word send carries with it the idea of the shoot growing out from a vine. And the word go carries with it the idea of the manner of life lived. 

Sound familiar? Maybe reminiscent of Jesus' words "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

When the Lord asks, "whom shall I send"---He is asking "who will be a branch from my vine?" And when He asks, "who shall go for us"---He is asking "who will live for Me?"

So maybe the "here I am" is more about who we are in Christ--not where we are geographically or circumstantially.

Here I am. In the same town I grew up in. In the same church that I have always attended. In the same ministry for almost 10 years. And Here I am. Ready and willing Lord to be used of You!