You are a minister of reconciliation! We reconcile people to God!
“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 NASB
Someone commented on my blog post “You are a Citizen of Heaven” that we are ambassadors for Christ because we live in a place that is not our home. We have another city waiting for us in heaven, and that’s where we truly belong, not here. We are therefore Christ’s ambassador, representing Him to the people around us who do not yet know Him.
Because we know Christ and He lives in us, we are the link that can cause people to be reconciled to God. They see the love of Jesus in our eyes, and they are drawn to that supernatural love. The more we know who we are, the more we shine Jesus to others, and the more people will be drawn to Christ.
When people ask us for the hope that is within us, we can tell them that it’s Christ! No matter how horrible this life is, we will one day be with Christ forever in heaven, without any tears or sorrow. There will only be joy, and we can have a taste of that joy when we yield to Him here on earth, even in the middle of difficult circumstances.
“But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” 1 Peter 3:15 NASB
Remember, you are a minister of reconciliation—you have the power within you to win people for Christ! Just ask for opportunities to share your faith. If you are going through sorrow, allow other believers to minister to you so that you can be filled up and strengthened. When you ask Christ what He wants you to do and do it, there is so much joy! It’s energizing!
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My daughter and I created the artwork for this series from the course {aff} “You are a Masterpiece” by Alicia Gratehouse. If you love to do art and are discovering who you are in Christ, this is a great art course for you!
Tags: ambassadors, Christian Living, ministry, reconciliation, Regaining Your Identity
We were reconciled to reconcile others. Called to a ministry of showing and sharing His Love in this foreign land we live in. 🙂
Amen! We are shown the way, and then we show others the way to Christ!
We get to show up in a way that people wonder how we can be that way and allow us to share about God, but at the same time not show up in a “I’m better than you” kind of way. It is a balancing act that I know I deal with.
We need humility in our interactions, to draw people closer to Christ with gentleness.
I cling to a thought very much like this when days are hard, “No matter how horrible this life is, we will one day be with Christ forever in heaven, without any tears or sorrow.” That does bring so much peace!
I’m glad that God found a way to reconcile us to Himself so that we can be with Him forever! I also look forward to the “no more sorrow” thing.
It’s a big job, but when God is with us we can be the best ambassador! I always enjoy your teaching, Susan!
Thank you for your words of encouragement.
We were just talking in Bible study last night about being ambassadors for Christ – a similar concept to your article. It’s crazy to think about, because it’s overwhelming at times, but I rest in the hope of Christ!
Yes, we represent Christ to the world, and we can show them the hope that is within us.
I love the subject of this blog. I discover that the more reconciled I become with Christ, the more people seek me out, because I have more and more of the fruit of the Spirit. I tell you, no farmer’s market can touch the sweetness of that fruit!
Haha! I love that metaphor!
Indeed we who have been saved must take it upon ourselves to reconcile others to Christ. I have pray to God to give me the wisdom I need to evangelise to my friends with love and without falling short of His glory.
May God give us all hearts to reach out to the lost!
Shining a light on Christ, even in sorrow, is definitely something to pray for! It becomes too easy to fall into self-pity when we are upset and hurt, but when we focus on God, we can experience His joy and help others to experience it as well!
Yes, focusing on Christ brings us joy, even in bad circumstances.