Ambassadors For...

During the first 2 years of her college career, Emilee (my amazing wife) worked as a student ambassador for the school. It was her job to show prospective students around campus and encourage them to choose to enroll. She was a representative and she represented our school quite well. There was a uniform involved and certain time commitments as well. In short, everyone knew Emilee was an ambassador because she looked and played the part well. Her brains and beauty made the school look good and that's why she was selected to represent them.

As as young boy, I was very involved with the Royal Ambassador program at my church. Each Sunday night we would meet and discover what it meant to represent Jesus by living on mission. But it wasn't until I was much older that I realized that everyone is an ambassador for something. Just like Emilee was an ambassador for our school and I was encouraged to represent Jesus to my friends, we all choose to stand behind something. Everyday, we make the choice of who or what we are gong to represent as we go about our lives. 

In 2 Corinthians 5:20, the apostle Paul tells the believers in Corinth that their lives should be committed to pointing others to Christ:

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ; certain that God is appealing through us, we plead on Christ's behalf, "Be reconciled to God."

I came across this verse the other day and read it in a new light. I was amazed at the fact that God chooses to use us as His ambassadors. Paul says that we are to "plead on Christ's behalf, "Be reconciled to God." If you are a believer, you are an ambassador of Jesus Christ. You are His representation in the world. I am blown away that God would not only redeem us, but also let us play a part in His mission. As Christ followers, when we wake up everyday we should remind ourselves that we are God's representatives in the world. 

So let's represent Him well. Let's love one another in ways that don't make sense to the world around us. Let's make it a point to share the gospel. Instead of representing the latest trend or selfish desires, let's be ambassadors for Christ. If you are like me, maybe you need to take a moment and ask yourself "What or who am I an ambassador for?" My hope is that we can call grasp the fact that we have a purpose, and that purpose is to show Christ to the world in everything we do. Let's live our lives on purpose today. We are ambassadors for Christ.