‘We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God.’ (v20) 2 Corinthians 5:18–21
Christopher Meyer, UK American Ambassador 1997–2003, describing his role, wrote, ’You must be able to negotiate, to win the confidence of the powerful and influence them, to understand what makes a foreign society tick, to analyse information and report it accurately and quickly, including what your own government does not want to hear; you need a quick mind, a hard head, a strong stomach, a warm smile and a cold eye’.*
As Christ’s ambassadors, is our role similar? We must negotiate and make our case to the powerful few, whose decisions influence the lives of millions. Scripture illustrates this in the contribution of the prophets in the Old Testament and apostles in the New. We can’t assume society will continue as before, for society is consistently challenged and changed by new ideas.
Whilst God rules supreme, and the end of all things is secured through Christ’s victory, we, as citizens of heaven, have a responsibility to represent God’s interests. We must first understand the society in which we live as exiles, and prayerfully analyse all we observe, weighing the results against Scripture and Christian tradition.
As Meyer points out, it must involve our whole character. We must pray for wisdom and grace to represent God’s Word to God’s world effectively.
RELATED SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER: Ezek. 33:1–20; Acts 16:16–40; Phil. 3:15–4:1; 1 Pet. 2:9–17.
AN ACTION TO TAKE: What steps can you take to best represent your heavenly citizenship in your life?
A PRAYER TO MAKE: ‘Lord, may I daily represent the values and interests of God’s kingdom. Amen.’
*Christopher Meyer DC Confidential, (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2011)
Photo by Alejander Coelho on Unsplash
