therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. [2 corinthians 5:20a]
am·bas·sa·dor
(noun) an accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country.
what a big job. it sounds so official and weighty. it carries with it so much responsibility and pressure! so how can we live up to such a task? well, if we’re only looking at the first half of the sentence, it’s going to look too daunting. we might despair. we might give up. and isn’t that exactly where the enemy would have us be?
thankfully, paul gives us the “therefore”, that reminds us that we can only be a part of this mission because we’ve already been reconciled to the Father through Christ. (vs 18) he’s not counting our sins against us anymore, we now reflect the glory of the Lord! and as we live in this reality, the love of Christ compels us (vs 14) to take the same love, the same ministry of reconciliation, the same glory, to a world that is still separated from the King. we are ambassadors, for King and country, accredited by the King’s Son, and sealed by the King’s Spirit, as we reflect His glory.
we can be equally thankful that paul clarifies that this is not a heavy burden, because it is God that is doing the appealing through us, not us doing the appealing in our own strength. our own strength will actually only get in the way. but in our weakness, when we are willing to display it, God’s strength is made perfect, (2 cor 12:9) and the Spirit blows life and belief into dead hearts and blind eyes. God then pulls them up out of the darkness and into his love. he does it. he does all of the work. he only calls us to trust and obey. so trust him. all the way to the ends of the earth. (mark 16:15)
today, in the presence of God…
Father, you are mighty to save. salvation belongs to you, so all praise belongs to you. thank you for reconciling me to yourself while i was still a sinner. thank you for your never ending love. thank you for this ministry of reconciliation. here i am, Lord. send me as your instrument in boldness and love, as i watch you work to reconcile the world to yourself.
~arwen eastman