Now then we are ambassadors for Christ...
II Corinthians 5:20
This entry is something of a follow-up to yesterday's entry in which I wrote about singer and second place American Idol contestant, Susan Boyle...
II Corinthians 5:20
This entry is something of a follow-up to yesterday's entry in which I wrote about singer and second place American Idol contestant, Susan Boyle...
A friend had asked me what I thought about her. I then wrote about society's cruel competitiveness, how it can sometimes cause a person to experience anguish, and even lead to an emotional breakdown. In a roundabout way, the situation with Ms. Boyle made me think of Christ's calling upon the life of a Christian. That, according to the Bible, I am to be His ambassador. So is every child of God.
The Lord told the church to be the salt and the light of the earth. In other words, we're to season the world with Christ's compassion as we demonstrate His love and mercy. And we are to illuminate minds by sharing the truth of the gospel, that salvation and forgiveness is to be found in Christ alone. This is an awesome responsibility.
As I have written many times in my journal, all that the world will ever see or know about the Lord Jesus will be through the lives of those who profess to believe in Him. Either we will succeed in making Christ's message attractive so that people will be drawn to Him, or we will live our lives in such a way as to make Christ distasteful, and our testimony to be false. The souls of multitudes hang in the balance.
As it says in one portion of Scripture, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed (surrounded and encircled) about with so great a cloud of witnesses," we are to run the race with patience, and we're to turn away from sin (Hebrews 12:1). I have read several different commentaries about this passage, each giving a slightly different but reasonable view. However, the fact is, we are indeed surrounded by many witnesses. In other words, people are watching our every move. As Christians our lives are like an open book for the entire world to read. Believe me, I know that individuals from both the church and the world are watching me closely to see if I am a hypocrite, or if I'm for real. They want to know if I really practice what I preach.
How important it is, therefore, for me to be a good representative for Jesus? Because how I live may determine if those who might be curious as to whether or not Jesus is who He says He is, will eventually come to Him for salvation, just as I have. Yes, I am responsible to demonstrate the reality of the Lord's power to change a life and to give a person hope.
This Scripture from Hebrews convinced me. I do not want to fail at being a faithful witness. Unfortunately, however, many times I do fail. And this brings me to another thought - the goodness of God. For in spite of my failings, stumblings and sins, God has been patient with me. How humbling! I know that, without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the empowering He gives to every Christian to live a godly life, the mandate to be a good ambassador would be impossible. I need God's help every second of each day.
And this brings me to the unfortunate Susan Boyle. There are myriads like her who hope to find happiness and success, and there is nothing wrong with this. But they end up experiencing rejection and despair. We Christians, then, must gladly and valiantly hold out the words of Life because people like Susan need Jesus. And He is depending upon us to be good and genuine witnesses to his greatness, not only by what we say, but also by how we live. After all, this is what an ambassador does. He represents his nation. We represent the kingdom of heaven.
D.B.
The Lord told the church to be the salt and the light of the earth. In other words, we're to season the world with Christ's compassion as we demonstrate His love and mercy. And we are to illuminate minds by sharing the truth of the gospel, that salvation and forgiveness is to be found in Christ alone. This is an awesome responsibility.
As I have written many times in my journal, all that the world will ever see or know about the Lord Jesus will be through the lives of those who profess to believe in Him. Either we will succeed in making Christ's message attractive so that people will be drawn to Him, or we will live our lives in such a way as to make Christ distasteful, and our testimony to be false. The souls of multitudes hang in the balance.
As it says in one portion of Scripture, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed (surrounded and encircled) about with so great a cloud of witnesses," we are to run the race with patience, and we're to turn away from sin (Hebrews 12:1). I have read several different commentaries about this passage, each giving a slightly different but reasonable view. However, the fact is, we are indeed surrounded by many witnesses. In other words, people are watching our every move. As Christians our lives are like an open book for the entire world to read. Believe me, I know that individuals from both the church and the world are watching me closely to see if I am a hypocrite, or if I'm for real. They want to know if I really practice what I preach.
How important it is, therefore, for me to be a good representative for Jesus? Because how I live may determine if those who might be curious as to whether or not Jesus is who He says He is, will eventually come to Him for salvation, just as I have. Yes, I am responsible to demonstrate the reality of the Lord's power to change a life and to give a person hope.
This Scripture from Hebrews convinced me. I do not want to fail at being a faithful witness. Unfortunately, however, many times I do fail. And this brings me to another thought - the goodness of God. For in spite of my failings, stumblings and sins, God has been patient with me. How humbling! I know that, without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the empowering He gives to every Christian to live a godly life, the mandate to be a good ambassador would be impossible. I need God's help every second of each day.
And this brings me to the unfortunate Susan Boyle. There are myriads like her who hope to find happiness and success, and there is nothing wrong with this. But they end up experiencing rejection and despair. We Christians, then, must gladly and valiantly hold out the words of Life because people like Susan need Jesus. And He is depending upon us to be good and genuine witnesses to his greatness, not only by what we say, but also by how we live. After all, this is what an ambassador does. He represents his nation. We represent the kingdom of heaven.
D.B.
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