Ambassador is Not a Part-Time Job

The apostle Paul writes in 2 Cor 5:20, Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,

since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf: Be

reconciled to God.”

If you were evaluated on your performance as an ambassador for Christ, what rating would you receive? If you were to rate yourself, on a scale of 1 -10, what rating would you give yourself? To properly do that, we would first have to determine what our duties and responsibilities are and then evaluate how we are doing in each of those areas.

An ambassador is the ranking representative stationed in a foreign capital. In the strictest sense, U.S. ambassadors represent the President of the United States in

an official capacity in foreign nations and communities. They are charged with

protecting and promoting national interests, maintaining diplomacy, organizing visits, welcoming visitors, and supporting resolutions. They don’t get to speak “off the record”, give their personal opinions or personal preferences on matters.

As an ambassador for the Kingdom of God, we are representatives for Jesus Christ in this foreign land called earth. Our citizenship is in heaven and we are here for a short assignment. Peter tells us that we are strangers and aliens in the world. As a Christian, we may look like everyone else in the world, but on the inside, we ought to be different.

We shouldn’t think like them, act like them, have the same customs, goals and desires as them. People of this world like to glorify themselves, seek to please themselves, and are more self-focused. As a believer, “whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him. Christ died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.” 2 Cor 5:9, 15.

If we, as believers are crucified with Christ and no longer living for ourselves but for Christ who died for us, as His ambassador, we should be promoting His interests and not our own. Our interests should in fact be reconciled with His interests and our actions should be those that are pleasing to Him and what Scripture instructs.

We must also remember that people are watching us, especially if they know we are Christians to see if we are any different than them. This past week, one of the soldiers who was in my unit over 30 years ago reached out to me on Facebook. He was only 19 years old back then and was only in my unit for a year and a half. He got out of the Army after his first enlistment, got married and now has 3 older children of his own. His wife is terminally ill and in the last stages of her life. I had no idea that I made such a huge impact on his life. After all these years, he was able to share things that made an impression on him; things that I didn’t even remember doing. Not that I was anything special, but there was something that was attractive to him. The Holy Spirit made an impression on him that He would use years down the road. As a result of this connection, I was able to share the Gospel with him and now he is better prepared to face this difficult time with God and the Holy Spirit as his comforter.

This should be the main focus and goal for all of us, whether intentional or not. We have no idea how God will use us, but we need to remain useful. 2 Cor 5:20 tells us that God is making His appeal through us; that we should be pleading on Christ’s behalf to be reconciled to God. Private First Class King is now reconciled to God. This is our primary responsibility as ambassadors for Christ.

As we are living in this difficult time, we should be focused on representing Christ and His Kingdom. Let’s not act like the world and slander our leaders who make decisions that we may not agree with. Don’t protest and rant about doing things contrary to what they are lawfully directing, even if doesn’t meet our expectations. By doing so, we are in fact telling God that He has lost control and that we need to take matters into our own hands. Instead, we need to represent Christ and His example. As we keep hearing Jesus say in the Gospel of John how He is only here to do His Father’s will, we ought to also be focused on doing Jesus’ will for us. I don’t get to take off my ambassador for Christ hat and put on my “Bryan the citizen” hat and do what I think is right or what meets my own personal needs and expectations. I need to continue to act like a representative of Jesus Christ and do the things that bring Him glory.

Pastor Bryan Kahue