Ambassadors For Christ

Ambassadors for Christ  

by Darren Hewer

Please open your Bible and read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21.  

When Paul says that "we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us" (2 Corinthians 5:20a, NLT), that's a scary thought, isn't it? I don't want people looking at ME! Can't we just point to Jesus and leave me out of this?

One of my professors remarked that he once received an "Alumni of the Year" award from his alma mater. On one hand he was happy to receive such a prestigious award, but on the other hand, he couldn't help but think: "Me? They think I'm a great guy? Maybe they should talk to my wife, she'd let them know that maybe I'm not as great as they think!"

Thankfully, the beauty of God's grace is that we DON'T always get what we deserve!

Paul continues in his letter by saying "We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!"" (2 Corinthians 5:20b, NLT). Many people have never opened a Bible, know almost nothing about Jesus, and have never heard the Gospel. All they know about Christianity is what they observe about us Christians. Therefore, we must become effective ambassadors for Christ. An ambassador is an authorized representative, and we are called to be Christ's representatives on Earth.

To be effective witnesses, and proper ambassadors for Christ, we must possess three qualities (among others): knowledge, wisdom and character. Knowledge is WHAT we know, wisdom is HOW to present that knowledge in a winsome fashion, and character is the way we live our lives. Let's recommit today to work towards becoming effective ambassadors for God; a tall order, but one we will achieve with diligence and trust in a God who will accomplish many great things through us if we are open to His great works.

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." (Colossians 4:6)  

Question: What are the three main qualities needed to be God's ambassador? Which of the three are you being called to focus on today?