Ambassadors for Christ

August 16

Job 11-12

Psalm 92:1-7

Proverbs 20:19

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Ambassadors for Christ

“So then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as God is pleading through us.  We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”  2 Corinthians 5:20 LSB

According to AI “an ambassador is someone who represents a person, organization, or country promoting their interests and image.  This can involve diplomatic roles, brand promotion, or acting as a representative raising awareness and promoting a cause.”  It is the perfect word to describe a Christian.  As believers in Jesus we bear His name and we reflect His image.  Certainly we all do that imperfectly, but if we profess to be a Christian, our conduct, actions, speech and general disposition have an impact on the perception those around us have of Christ.  We represent Him to the world.  Our main goal as ambassadors of Christ should be to bring other people to Jesus.  We do that by raising awareness of who He is, what He has done and how He can make a difference in their life.  The cause we are promoting is their need for a Savior.  Until they realize they are dead in their sins and walking in enmity with God, they will not understand their need to be reconciled to Him.  Our job is to help them come to that understanding.  “And you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the ruler of the power of the air...But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:1-6 LSB 

We don’t tell them how to be a good person or give them a list of things they must do to please God.  That misses the point.  Their greatest need is not to know how to be good, it is that they are dead in their sins and they need to know how they can be made alive in Christ.  I love the Legacy Standard Bible’s translation of this verse because it says that God is “pleading through us” and “we beg you on behalf of Christ.”  God desperately wants people to come to Him.  “The Lord is not slow about His promise, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance”  2 Peter 3:9 LSB  God our Savior “desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth.”  1 Timothy 2:4 LSB  God loves us so much that He was willing to sacrifice His only Son to make a way for us to come to Him.  Having experienced His love and mercy, we are now ambassadors for Him to the world begging everyone who will listen to come to Him, too.  We know the secret to living a life of purpose and meaning, are we sharing it with others?  Ask God to give you opportunities to promote Him to the world.