The Call of an Ambassador

As ambassadors for Christ, we can have the assurance of God's appointment and the tools to carry it out.   Here is what 1 Thessalonians 5 says:
21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil. 23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.  We serve a faithful God, and He has placed confidence in us to communicate His message - to speak the truth AND to live the truth.   As we pursue the course of a Christ-following ambassador, we know that we have powerful tools available to us, activated by the Holy Spirit, so that we might live a life pleasing to Him. In challenging days, we can demonstrate our reliance on the presence of Almighty God, who will sustains us.

2nd Corinthians chapter 5 can encourage us regarding our purpose, and our mission:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 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.

I have a great admiration for Ron Hutchcraft of "A Word With You", heard every weekday morning at 5:50 on Faith Radio.  If you're used to waking up at listening to Dr. Jeremiah on "Turning Point", I would recommend perhaps getting up 10 minutes earlier to catch Ron.

And he has nailed it - again - in his latest blog post.

In light of the tragic death of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and 3 others at the attack on the U.S. Embassy, Ron wrote this:

Sounds like the man we lost is the kind of person we want representing our country. Proficient in the language, out among the people, building relationships, taking risks so folks can be free.

An ambassador.

With that word plastered all over the headlines today, I keep thinking - I'm one, too. Just like every one of us who belongs to Jesus. It's right there in black-and-white in the Bible: "We are Christ's ambassadors" (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Today's news is a vivid reminder of exactly what that title means. An ambassador is appointed by the highest authority there is (in this case, the President of the United States) to represent him in a specific place. Sometimes requiring risks - and yes, sacrifice.

So, along with all my spiritual brothers and sisters, I've been assigned by the highest Authority in the universe to represent Him wherever He places me. That makes the Jesus-follower the most important person in the room, whether anyone recognizes it or not. Because he or she is representing Heaven.

That means I must act like Jesus, respond like Jesus, no matter what my circumstances or treatment. No excuses for losing my temper, being harsh, compromising my integrity, acting selfish, flirting with sin, being too busy for people who need me. Because He has staked His reputation on His ambassador. He literally says I am where He's put me "on Christ's behalf"...

I continue to be struck by the dangers that are evident in the world today - and we can feel sometimes so helpless and vulnerable when we read headlines emerging out of nations such as Libya, Egypt, and now Yemen.   When we see Israeli leaders poring over intelligence data and weighing the cost of their action, or inaction, against a nation whose President breathes threats of annihilation of the Jewish people, we have to be concerned - and our hearts break.

It's an uncertain time here at home, with economic conditions still unstable, and with the news that another Christian organization has protested the threat to religious liberty that is the mandate that employer-provided health care plans provide objectionable products, and the almost daily headlines concerning the freedom to practice of faith being restricted, it's time to pray.   And, as Joel Rosenberg pointed out in the opening session of the Epicenter conference last night:

We are to be watchmen on the walls. When we see threats, we need to warn people. We need to stand up and speak out. We need to act in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Christians may have very little geopolitical influence, but we are not powerless.

We can pray. We can preach the Word. We can proclaim the Gospel.

And, then, turning to the Middle East, he said:

We can encourage and equip our brothers and sisters in the epicenter. We can show Christ’s love and compassion to all in the epicenter.

Jesus commands us: Love your neighbor. Love your enemy. And love one another.

As ambassadors of the Most High, God is calling us to be faithful - you and I may not be governing the direction of world events, but I believe we are to be found faithful in living our lives in such a manner that we bring hope amidst uncertainty, and help to those in need.   Sometimes, it may be risky, often the way can be hard, but we have been sent on a mission, and the one who has called us will sustain us.