We have a ministry as Christians that we don't talk about much: We are ambassadors for Christ, citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom. And the question is not if I am one or not, but what kind of ambassador am I? The order stems from the truth that through Christ's work on the cross, I am a new creation, reconciled to God. Though hostile toward God and a willing member of the kingdom of darkness, I have been transferred into the Kingdom of Light, the Kingdom of His Beloved Son--our Savior, Jesus. Once an enemy. Now a friend. I am a citizen not of this world but of Heaven. Yet, I am here on earth, sent as His ambassador to those in need of reconciliation with God. To the hopeless I am to offer a sure hope, a hope that makes me unashamed of who I am in Christ. To the restless, I am to offer a peace that calms the troubled heart in a troubled world. To the sorrowful I am to offer the comfort that God has given me in the midst of my sorrows. To the lonely I am to offer a relationship with the One who will never leave them or forsake them. To the unloved I am to offer the freely given, inescapable love of the Savior--a love that will never die. To the fearful I am to offer a refuge in my Strong Tower, the security of the Rock of Salvation on which I stand, a Rock that can enable me to weather any storm, any gale, any adversity.
I am His ambassador sent not to minister to an ally nation--because there are none--but to a people hostile toward Him, in love with their darkness. But I know that while I was yet a sinner Christ died for me and for them. I know that once His enemy, I am now His friend, and He is my King. As His ambassador I must demonstrate a life that shows clearly that I am a new creation, that I am not a citizen of this world; I have been set apart, made holy--distinctive--by His transforming work in my life. I must demonstrate a life of hope--a living hope. I must demonstrate a life of peace, earthquake proof--unshakable in times of tumult. I must live a life that testifies to the comfort of the God of All Comfort. I must live a life that reflects that I am sure of the Love that will not let me go no matter what may come. I must live a life of courage because I know my Captain fights the battle for me--and He is invincible. And I must live a life that radiates my heart's desire that they, too, can come to Him through repentance and be transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and into the Kingdom of God's Beloved Son, Jesus. They, too, can become by grace through faith a new creation, a friend of God, an ambassador of the Heavenly Kingdom.
Again, it is not a question of if I am called to be an ambassador for I am. The question is: What kind of ambassador will I be?
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