Ambassadors for Christ

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 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. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 New International Version (NIV) If Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High God who was without sin, left His place in Heaven and humbled Himself on earth, even to the extent of death on a cross, for our sins, who do we think we are? Far too many who profess Christ as Savior don't quite understand this claim of being Christian. We are not better than anyone else. If we truly believe in who Jesus is, what He did, and ask Him to live in our hearts, we are forgiven of the sin that separates us from God. By grace we are saved from death and promised eternal life for we have been reconciled to God through the righteousness of Christ and not one thing we did ourselves. Without Christ, we are nothing. "All our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6) Only through Christ can we become the righteousness of God and be acceptable in His sight. And to have that and be that, we have an obligation to love and serve others, just like Jesus did. To be a Christian, we must follow Christ from our hearts. We don't have to accept this. God has given us a choice. We have the opportunity to choose eternal life or eternal death. Salvation is a gift freely given but we don't have to choose it. Many believe that living in this world is a better alternative to death. However, all in this world will die one day. For the believer, death is merely a transition to everlasting life. Yet, while we are living in this world, we have a job to do. God uses believers to make Himself known to those who don't believe for He desires that none should perish. The Kingdom of God is not waiting for folks who think themselves superior to others. The Kingdom of God is where those who believe in Jesus Christ and have led others to know and believe in Him will live forever with God. An ambassador is a representative. Believers are to be ambassadors for Christ. We are blessed with His righteousness and empowered to draw upon His strength provided through the Holy Spirit to represent our Savior as Lord to this dying world. We are called to love God and love each other. We are to share the Good News that Jesus died on that cross for the sins of the whole world and rose from the grave to defeat death, offering eternity to all who follow Him. So let's get busy. REPRESENT!