Representing the King of Kings

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

This is one of those verses that I have known for a long time, and thought I understood fully, but this week, God added another facet to my understanding of the importance of being a good ambassador.

Summer break affords me with a little more time for reading, and I have begun working my way through a very lengthy biography of Queen Elizabeth. I love history, and Queen Elizabeth’s reign spans some more recent events of history which I hadn’t really paid attention to until now, and it has been interesting to fill in some details.

But one thing I didn’t expect to fascinate me as I began the biography was the frequent mention of parliament and the different political personnel representing the country and even more, representing the monarch herself.

It has underscored for me the effect one person can have on a multitude’s understanding of the person or organization he or she represents.

You and I represent Christ. We are His ambassadors, and as such, our words, actions, the attitudes we display on our faces, the way we dress, walk, and react in unexpected situations—all these things give the people around us a picture of the God we represent.

Did you find that thought convicting? I did.

It is easy in our day to day lives, especially in the United States, where we have a more casual view of those in government, to lose sight of our important commission from the King of Kings. Unlike our appointed leaders in the United States, you and I represent a Person, not just an abstract idea of a nation or people group.

Yet, the joy of being an ambassador for Christ, is not just that we represent a perfect Leader, the King of Kings, who is all powerful and all knowing, and unchangeably good. It is also that we have Him living inside us. We never need to wait for an audience with our King, because the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts, ready to give wisdom when we ask it (James 1:5) and power to obey.

So, dear Reader, this is your reminder to take a moment and consider: what kind of an ambassador are you being for your King today?

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16