Forty Days Full - An Invitation To Real Life

Day Thirty-Nine: An Ambassador of Reconciliation

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation...We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors.” (2 Corinthians 5:18, 20a NIV)

A n ambassador is an appointed diplomat sent by one country as its official representative to another country. Ambassadors represent their homeland while working and living in the country to which they've been sent. We have been reconciled with God, making heaven our country of origin. We’ve been born-again of the Spirit and are seated in heavenly places with Christ. For now, we live in this country (earth) as foreigners, but we carry authority far greater than any authority here on earth. We've been commissioned to represent our country of origin to this dying world. We are in the family business of reconciliation. Because of Christ we don't have to count men's sins against them. We are part of a debt reduction plan. We offer an exchange. An old life for a new life that comes in Christ. This new life is a complete overhaul of what was. It requires surrender. Instead of making all the decisions yourself, you must submit to your superior who is Christ. It's a surrendered life, but it's a life a whole lot better than the one we’ve made by ourselves. Considering the benefit package that comes with Christ, it is remarkable how people choose a wrecked life over a surrendered life. A few years ago, while feeding homeless people under a bridge in our city I met an interesting man. I asked him about the circumstances that caused him to be