It's a bit like Isaiah in the last half of chapter 5. What he says there is no less true than what he says in chapter 6, but by chapter 6 the lesson has come home to him. What made the difference?
In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said,
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory.”
And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said,
“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
Isaiah 6:1-6
There's a wonderful saying that's become popular in recent years: "Be the change you wish to see in the world." It's attributed to Gandhi (it's not actually what he said, but whatever).
Although the world doesn't tend to see God as part of this "be the change" process, there is spiritual truth here. Any change that needs to take place in the heart of the church needs to take place in my heart first. A humbled, compassionate church begins with a humbled, compassionate me.
With that in mind, here's a version 2 of the conclusion of my previous post:
I'm reminded of Isaiah 58, one of the most powerful and hopeful injunctions in scripture (Isaiah 58:6-12). This is God's heart. Is this what the world sees about God when they look at me?
My "woe is me" when I answer that question isn't hopeless, just as Isaiah's wasn't. Because here's verse 6-7:
Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”
"Be the change you wish to see in the world," the spiritual version -- the deep and permanent version -- begins and ends with Jesus.