2Corinthians 5:20(NLT) tells us, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” A higher honor than this cannot be given within our earth experience. An ambassador is a high-ranking official appointed to represent a government or sovereignty. Our Heavenly Father has given us this rank through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It might seem a little strange to us that we can be ambassadors in the places where we go about our everyday life, but when we understand who we are in Christ and the reality that we live in a very cold and dark world, we will come to the realization that it’s not strange at all.
This earth is not our home, we’re just passing through. We are spiritual beings in Christ having a human experience on earth. There is an everlasting blessedness after life on earth, and part of our job as ambassadors is to tell others about it. We need to help them remember who they really are and why they are here. They need to know that the purpose of their existence is to have a relationship with God through His Son. This is the good news they are waiting for, but may not realize it.
When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, he becomes the head of our lives. We are no longer under the devil’s dominion. We switch kingdoms, from the kingdom of darkness to God’s Kingdom of Light. Ephesians 2:6(NLT) tells us, “For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.” So as born-again brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, we are citizens of heaven, but we live in this foreign land of earth, where we can be ambassadors for the one who saved and redeemed us.
Our bodies were born here, but our spirits were birthed in heaven. This leads us to the question, “What is the purpose of this earth experience?” One of the purposes of this earth experience is to prepare for a heavenly existence. God did not pre-program us with instant and complete knowledge of His Word and goodness. We were not born with this baked in our consciousness. Our God honors our free-will choice. He honors process, and allows us time to get to know Him.
As we learn, we grow. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing the Word of God, so as we continue to learn God’s Word, we grow spiritually and our faith increases. Why is it important for our faith to increase? The most important reason for us to increase in faith is because God tells us in Hebrews 11:6 that it is impossible to please Him without faith. We must learn to believe and trust in what we cannot see with our physical eyes. As our level of believing and trusting God increases, we become more effective ambassadors.
There are so many wonderful things to take in visually within the earth. We look at the world around us and marvel at the forests, parks, cities, houses, and buildings. The earth is pretty extraordinary, because God made it that way. It gives us a little indication of how terrific heaven is. This world system is operated by power and money, but God’s system in heaven is ran by faith and love, and we have been given the privilege to introduce others to His Kingdom by being living examples of its citizenship. It’s one of the reasons why He commands us to love from a pure heart and to have a sincere faith.
Philippians 2:13 (NKJV) tells us, “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” We can’t do anything on our own, but Jesus tells us in Matthew 19:26 that all things are possible with God. He works through us, but sometimes we do not allow Him to do this. How do we stop God from working through us? Our doubt is the greatest obstacle to the move and Will of God. We don’t believe He loves us enough to demonstrate His power on our behalves, or we’re too down on ourselves, and we don’t believe that He will work in us to do some great things in the earth as His ambassadors. This is kinda how John the Baptist felt.
Mathew 3:1-2 (NLT) tells us, “In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” The prophet, Isaiah, said that John was the voice shouting in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!” In today’s world, John the Baptist would be considered a fanatic for the Lord, and we can only hope to be considered as such ourselves. John stayed in the wilderness and lived off a diet of locusts and honey. He was not concerned with worldly things. John’s mission was to prepare the way for the Messiah. He baptized people with water, because water baptism was a part of the law at that time. It was a necessary practice that demonstrated a person had repented of their sins and made a commitment to God to live holy. Today, because of the sacrifice of Christ, we can be baptized in the Holy Spirit, the true and living water.
Matthew 3:13 tells us that Jesus Christ went to be baptized by John the Baptist, but John tried to talk him out of it. He knew that Jesus was the Messiah, and didn’t feel that he was worthy of such an extreme honor and privilege to baptize him. In Matthew 3:15(NLT), Jesus told him, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” John was a mere mortal. The Holy Spirit was ON him, but it was not IN him, as it is in us. We are sons and daughters of the King; members of the Household of Faith, and part of the highest royal family. John was indeed blessed of the Lord, but he was not a son; he was a servant. And yet the requirement of the Lord was that he perform this supremely sacred baptism of the Holy Spirit for Jesus Christ. This should give you some idea of the heft of spiritual blessing that Christ has made available for us; for if John was given the treasure of this task, how much more have we received and are therefore required AND qualified to contribute towards God’s Kingdom.
We are ambassadors for Christ, and there is no limit on our potential to rise higher in every aspect of our lives. We are instruments employed by our Father to carry forth His Word and turn the hearts of people towards Him through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We must never become too comfortable and get stagnant in our walk with Christ. Even amid adversity and obstacles, we must turn our face to Jesus Christ, remain faithful to him, and do all that God requires of us as ambassadors for our Redeemer, Jesus Christ! ■
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“Ambassadors for Christ” written by JMack. 4theChristianMan.Com© 2017. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.