Christ’s Ambassadors

(“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”  John 17:26

This is part of what is called the high priestly prayer of Jesus, and he is speaking to His father.  Jesus says that the disciples (and eventually the church and therefore each of us) have been entrusted with His mission, the same mission given to Him by God the Father.  That mission is to make God’s love known to men and reconcile them to Him.

The apostle Paul tells the Corinthian Christians:

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” 2 Corinthians 5: 20

What a responsibility!  When Jesus ascended into Heaven, He entrusted His mission to us.  An ambassador represents the person or country from whom he is sent.  So I have to ask myself every day, “How well does my life represent Jesus?”

Here’s how Andrew Murray(a South African writer, teacher and pastor) describes the situation in his book, “Like Christ”:

“Believer!  whoever you are, and where ever you dwell, the Lord, who knows you and your surroundings has need of you, and has chosen you to be his representative in the circle in which you move.  Fix your heart on this.  He has fixed His heart on you and saved you, in order that you should bear and exhibit to those who surround you the very image of His unseen glory.  Oh, think of the origin of your Heavenly mission in His everlasting love, as His had its origin in the love of the Father.  Your mission is, in very truth, just like His.”

Is your heart fixed on the mission Jesus gave you? What will you do today to make Jesus better known and better loved? Are you ready to be His ambassador?