Ambassadors for Christ

According to Merriam-Webster, an ambassador is:

Ambassador: 1 : an official envoy; especially : a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his or her own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment.

According to the Bible:

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2Co 5:20)

(In case you are wondering, the picture is the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)

I think that is an interesting concept. We are ambassadors for Christ. Ambassadors are citizens of one nation sent out as representatives of that nation to a foreign land. What do we know about ambassadors?

Ambassadors represent the kingdom or nation they are sent from.

They are not citizens of the nation they are sent to even though they live in that land.

Their interests are not the interests of the nation they are ambassadors to; rather their concerns are entirely on the nation or king that sent them.

Ambassadors have diplomatic immunity which essentially means that they are not beholden to the rules and laws of the land they are sent to.

I just found this whole concept fascinating over the weekend. We are sent out from our King, citizens of His kingdom to declare His message to others, imploring them to be reconciled to God through Christ. He speaks through us, we speak on behalf of Him. That is a pretty weighty responsibility. It is also a universal responsibility to Christians. Nothing about what Paul is saying would even begin to hint that this ambassadorship on behalf of Christ is something restricted to just a select few. We have been reconciled to Christ and we are ministers of that ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18). By preaching the Gospel and showing our witness in the way we live, we are all called as ministers, as ambassadors of Christ.

Now there are lots of people who give homage to their ethnicity through cultural traditions. Maybe your family is Irish and St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal for you. Maybe you are Polish and have kielbasa at family get togethers. Perhaps Cinco de Mayo is a big deal for you. Ultimately though, while you give lip service to that heritage, you are citizens first and foremost of this country. I am not an ambassador for Ireland and Poland, I am an American who recognizes my cultural heritage. That is often how Christians seem to act. We give lip service and homage to Christ when the seasons call for it but most of the time we are just plain old Americans.

Is that true? Do we act like citizen-ambassadors of the Kingdom of Christ or do we act like citizens of the world?