BIBLE PASSAGE:
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)
MEDITATION:
As believers, did you know we are now Ambassadors of Christ?
How awesome is that? The Lord trusts and expects us to become
His ambassadors. Ambassadors are the highest-ranking diplomats
for a country, and in this case, for the kingdom of Jesus.
Why would God want to make us His ambassadors? Because
He knows we are ‘usable’ for His purposes in advancing His
kingdom. We are to be the light in a dark world, and have a
positive spiritual influence on others. That’s our calling when
we become adopted members of God’s family. We have a new
responsibility to represent Him in all we say and do.
Of course, with responsibility comes discipline. We need to be
willing to discipline ourselves to His way of thinking, His way
of living, and His way of serving. In general, everything that
pleases God, should be an integral part of our lives. We need
to put aside our egotistical attitudes, our selfishness, and our
habits that have conformed to the ‘ways of the world’.
When we read His commandment….
“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD
your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone
guiltless who misuses his name.”
(Exodus 20:1)
….most people usually think it is referring to profanity.
Profanity is certainly unbecoming of anyone who professes to
belong to the Lord, however when we think about “taking His
Name in vain”, it can also be referring to how we are living our
life for the Lord.
Think of it in these terms. If someone takes a bucket and tries
to empty the ocean one bucket at a time, we could say they are
“taking their bucket in vain”. No matter how often they fill the
bucket, their efforts are useless (“in vain”).
By the same token, if we claim to belong to the Lord (a Christian),
but are allowing sin into our lives, we are taking His Name in vain.
In other words, our ‘walk’ doesn’t match our ‘talk’, so we are not
having a positive influence on the lost.
We are not good ambassadors of Christ, because we are not representing
the God we profess to worship, or the Jesus we claim to be following. We
may say that we believe in Jesus, but others don’t believe us because of
what they see us do or say (our words and actions are in vain).
Another commandment that comes to mind is:
“Honor your father and your mother,
so that you may live long in the land
the LORD your God is giving you.”
(Exodus 20:12)
We may respect and obey our parents, however if our parents are
believers and we are living a life contrary to their beliefs, then in
essence we are dishonoring them. Why? Because our actions affect
the opinions others have of our parents.
Again, the same is true in our relationship with the Lord. If our lives
don’t reflect what God considers as good and righteous, then we are
dishonoring Him and Jesus by the way we are living.
ACTION:
So, how do we improve our role as His ambassadors?
We can start by looking at the following scripture:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy—think about such things.
(Philippians 4:8)
When we think about the things in that scripture, the Holy Spirit
will warn us when we are allowing the ‘things of the world’ to
influence or replace our Godly thoughts, and our Godly living.
When God saves us, He gives us the Holy Spirit to be our guide
as we are being transformed and conformed to His ways.
God, who knows the heart, showed that he
accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to
them, just as he did to us.
(Acts 15:8)
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things
that come from the Spirit of God but considers them
foolishness, and cannot understand them because they
are discerned only through the Spirit.
(1 Corinthians 2:14)
Does that mean we isolate ourselves from the world? We
wouldn’t be very good ambassadors if we did that, would
we? When God saves us we are still ‘in the world’, but we
need to guard against being ‘of the world’.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and
faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows
in their distress and to keep oneself from being
polluted by the world.
(James 1:27)
Of course, Satan will persist in trying to convince us that unless
we become participants of worldly thoughts and actions, we will
not be liked by others. Look at what the scriptures tell us about
the lack of attention people of the world have toward those who
represent the Lord.
I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not
accept me; but if someone else comes in his own
name, you will accept him. How can you believe
since you accept glory from one another but do
not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
(John 5:43-44)
We can see that we might not be ‘well received’ by those who
have chosen to follow the ‘things of the world’. We should not
be surprised if are occasionally excluded from some things,
like social gatherings.
It may be a tough pill to swallow, but as Christ’s ambassadors,
we must make a choice, right? We are either fully committed to
the Lord, or we are trying to hold on to a portion of the world’s
ways, so we will be accepted.
Being loved by the Lord should be our focus, since He is the One
who decides where we will spend eternity. Hopefully, our faith
won’t alienate others from associating with us, but it may happen.
If it does, it can be an acid test of our love and commitment to the
Lord.
God’s Word gives us some guidance for making our choices.
But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you,
then choose for yourselves this day whom you will
serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond
the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose
land you are living. But as for me and my household,
we will serve the Lord.”
(Joshua 24:15)
When God created us, He gave us the ability to make choices
and we must choose wisely. Why? Because the place where we
will spend eternity is the result of our choice. If we choose not
to choose, then we have made our choice, haven’t we?
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I pray that as Your ambassador,
I will not dishonor You by taking Your name in vain.
Increase my desire to show others through my words
and actions, that my faith and belief in You is sincere.
I don’t want to confuse or mislead others by living a
life that is influenced by the ‘world’ instead of by You.
I know that I cannot hold on to You with one hand, and
the world with my other hand. Thank You for giving me
the responsibility of being a part of Your ministry; teach
me how to do it the right way.”
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