Ambassadors for Christ

Scripture — 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (NRSV)

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Devotion

The United States has almost 200 ambassadorial positions throughout the world. Being an ambassador is an honorable and influential role because, among other things, an ambassador is empowered to speak on behalf of the country. When an ambassador says something official to the leader of another country, it’s as if the country itself is speaking.

In 2 Corinthians we learn that we are ambassadors of Christ (5:20). In this passage, Paul connects his particular apostolic calling with being an ambassador of Christ. But what he says about himself is relevant in a general way to all who follow Jesus. Like Paul, we have been entrusted with the good news of God’s grace in Christ. Like Paul, we have been authorized to share this good news with others and to invite them to “be reconciled to God” (5:20).

In many cases Christians fulfill their ambassadorial calling wisely and faithfully. And sometimes, well, not so wisely and faithfully. When I was a teenager I had a Christian friend named Jeff who was zealous to lead people to Christ. To that extent he was a faithful ambassador. But the way he represented Christ left something to be desired. Jeff would walk up to strangers on the street and light a match only a few feet from them. Then he would ask, “Do you know what this is?” Those who didn’t walk by in fear would say something like, “Yes, that’s a burning match.” Jeff would reply, “And that burning match will be you in eternity if you don’t accept Jesus as your Savior.”

I suggest that Jeff’s approach failed, not only because he never actually led anyone to faith in Christ, but also because he represented Christ rather poorly. He seemed to miss altogether that part about loving our neighbors and our enemies. He did not follow Paul’s example of being motivated by the love of Christ. You may recall that only a few verses earlier in 2 Corinthians 5 Paul wrote, “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.” If we are motivated to bear witness to Christ because of how much Christ loves the world, surely we ought to communicate in a loving way—and live in a loving way too, for that matter.

Today is the Thursday of Holy Week, a day many Christians call “Maundy Thursday.” “Maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum, which appears in the Latin translation of John 13:45, “I give you a new commandment [mandatum novum], that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” Jesus demonstrated this love in a dramatic way on the Thursday before his Passion, when he washed the feet of his disciples and said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12).

Thus, it is fitting that on Maundy Thursday we are reminded of our charge to love each other as Christ loved us, both also our neighbors and, indeed, our enemies. We are ambassadors, not only of the good news of God’s grace in Christ, but also of God’s love in Christ. Thus, when we speak on behalf of our Lord who has authorized us as his ambassadors, we would do well to live the message in addition to delivering it.

Throughout my life, I have seen Christians do this well in addition to doing not so well (as exemplified by my friend Jeff.) I think, for example, of people from the church I once served in Hollywood. They had a great concern for the children from the neighborhoods near the church, children who lacked privilege and struggled with many obstacles. These ambassadors of Jesus didn’t just bring the message of the gospel to the children of the neighborhood. Rather, they moved in. They lived alongside those they sought to serve. They lived the gospel in addition to preaching it. They labored to help the children of that community thrive in every part of life.

You are an ambassador of Christ. You have been authorized to bring the good news of God’s grace to those who so desperately need to hear it. So, if you seek to represent Christ well, by all means share the message. And by all means live it too! Love your neighbors and even your enemies so that, through you, people might come to know the love of God in Christ.

Banner image by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project’s online commentary. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: I Am the Vine and You Are the Branches (John 15).

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