Living as an Ambassador for Christ
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.
2 Corinthians 5:20
We can read the words about being an ambassador for Christ, but they won’t affect our lives until we feel like ambassadors in our hearts. What is the difference between knowing we are ambassadors for Christ in our minds and truly living as ambassadors for Christ from our hearts? There is great comfort when we live as ambassadors from our hearts and truly feel like ambassadors. Renting a house at the beach for a week’s vacation is not the same as owning the house; we know that house is not truly home. It’s the same when we see ourselves as ambassadors for Christ, knowing that this world is not our home.
How do we live in this world knowing in our hearts that we are Christ’s ambassadors? Below are three things that can help us to know that we are ambassadors.
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- The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord (Psalm 24:1). Remembering that everything we have belongs to the Lord can be a difficult task depending how much we are attached to our earthly possessions; our houses, cars, and money. If we know in our hearts that everything belongs to God and we are just stewards of these things using everything for his glory, then we can detach ourselves from the world and be more attached to Christ and eternity.
- Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord (Psalm 133:1). When we see ourselves as servants of God, then we are living as his ambassadors. As his ambassadors, we are to pray and leave everything is his hands. We can’t change people or the world, but we can pray for God to do this as we walk in obedience to his divine will. The Lord takes the responsibility for changing things through our prayers, and it’s our responsibility to live as his servants.
- If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26). When we love the Lord more than anyone or anything in this world, then we are closer to the Lord than we are to the world. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30). This love for the Lord frees us from the world and brings us closer to the Lord.
When we see ourselves as ambassadors for Christ, we can cope with everything from an eternal perspective. We can live for eternity, knowing this life is like a vapor, and we can live free in Christ as his servants. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14). It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).
Today live as an ambassador for Christ, knowing that this life is temporary and that Heaven is your true home. Note the feeling of peace and freedom in being God’s ambassador, knowing that he is God and you are his servant.
Prayer: Lord, help me to realize that everything belongs to you and that I am just a steward of these things. Fill my heart with the knowledge that I am your ambassador in this temporary world, and that Heaven is my true home. In Jesus name, Amen