For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. 20We are Christ’s ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. 2 Cor. 5:19-20
Every believer is called to be an ambassador for Christ. David Egner is a believer who has taken that appointment seriously. As Christ’s ambassador, David regularly spends time teaching prison inmates about Jesus through Bible study classes. He lets them know that God loves them and because of what Christ has done, they need not be separated from Him.
One day when David arrived at the checkpoint to enter the prison, he was told that his identification card had been misplaced. In order for him to get in and teach his classes, the guard had to fill out a temporary permission slip.
After David got inside, he glanced at the piece of paper and laughed. In the space provided to indicate whom he was representing, the guard had written, "God."
Later, as he drove home, David thought about the permission slip more seriously. Although the guard may have had a sense of humor, he was right. While David was officially representing a prison ministry, he was really representing God.
All believers in Jesus represent God wherever they are, and by whatever they do. They are his ambassadors.
In 2 Corinthians 5, the apostle Paul speaks of our calling to be ambassadors for Christ – ambassadors with a very specific and wonderful message. We are to let the people of this world know that they are reconciled to God. The dictionary defines reconciled as: 1) put people back on friendly terms; 2) end conflict.
Wouldn’t it be incredible if people truly understood that the conflict has ended and they can be on friendly terms with God? As ambassadors, we have the joyous responsibility of telling them. And the best news is, the reconciliation is not because of something they have done or need to do: it’s because Jesus has already done the work of reconciling the whole world to God.
If someone were to ask who we represent, may our message of reconciliation be so clear that the obvious answer to the question would be, “God.”
With Love,
Mike