“So, we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God’!” 2 Corinthians 5:20
You may be surprised to know that the US has 189 ambassadors around the world which includes countries that most of us have never heard of or, as in my case, can’t even pronounce. Sure, you know Germany, France, England, and Brazil, but what about Benin, Djibouti, Eswatini and Timor-Leste? There are even US Ambassadors representing organizations like the UN, the Vatican, and more. Although they may have varying duties, the main purpose of these officials is to represent the US and its interest around the world. And, where that interest is not so well received, it is the job of the US Ambassador to do all he or she can to reconcile the US and that particular country together.
God has an interest that is very near and dear to His heart, and that is that the world be reconciled to Himself. In line with this, He has called us to be His ambassadors, or as Paul describes it, Ambassadors of Christ. In an effort to let us know what these duties include, Paul gives a really good job description which is found in 2 Corinthians 5:18-21. It says, “And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” Wow! What a powerful position and opportunity we have been given.
Just as being a US Ambassador has its benefits and rewards, so it is for us as Christ’s Ambassadors. As Job acted as an ambassador, praying for his friends to be forgiven, God restored back into Job’s life everything the enemy had stolen, times two.
Today, may we be reminded of just how awesome and rewarding our Divine Ambassadorship truly is.