I was the Boone County Spelling Bee champion once. Aren’t you impressed? I held the title for a little while. That was soon forgotten, and someone else held the title. I’ve been chairman of some things, president of some things – but the titles come and go. You can be “captain”, “most valuable player”, “director”, or “Woman of the Year” – nice titles, but they don’t really have any lasting significance. There’s one that does ... and you’re a candidate.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about “The Most Important Title You Will Ever Have”.
There is one title, conferred by God, that has incredible eternal significance. It’s a title that forever enlarges the significance of the one who carries it. The title doesn’t require a degree, a vote, personal wealth, or friends in high places. It belongs to many people who have never held any other title in their lives. And if you belong to Jesus Christ, you have already been given this powerful title – and the sobering responsibility that accompanies it.
The announcement of this important position is made in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 5:18, “God has reconciled is to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’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 ... ‘Be reconciled to God’.
Ambassador – there’s the title that comes with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In presidential campaigns, people donate big money, hoping to be rewarded with that title. It is a high honor to be trusted by the government of your nation to be the face and the voice of your nation somewhere in the world. By definition, an ambassador is a person assigned by the highest authority there is to represent him in a specific place. The impression people in that place have of the ambassador’s country depends on how the ambassador lives. Whether or not they understand the mind and heart of the one who assigned them depends on how clearly they communicate it by their words and their deeds.
And we are “Christ’s ambassadors”! Appointed by the highest authority in the universe to represent Him! Talk about significance! In the Bible’s words, “He has committed to us the message” of what He did on the cross. He is counting on you to represent what He is like by the way you live. He is counting on you to communicate clearly the message He gave His life for. How are you doing?
And you have been assigned to represent Jesus in a specific place. The neighborhood you live in, the school you go to, the place where you work, the team you’re on, or the store where you shop. You are Christ’s ambassador right where you are. Just as a country’s ambassador is somewhere in the world, standing in for his president, you are assigned to your circle of influence to be there “on Christ’s behalf”. In essence, you know in your heart that “Jesus isn’t physically here right now – He sent me to represent Him.
You may be an effective ambassador for Jesus or you may be a disastrous one – but you are Christ’s ambassador. Someone’s eternity may depend on what kind of ambassador you turn out to be.
Are you missing a relationship with God? Find out more about how a relationship with God can be Yours for Life! If you're not sure you belong to Jesus Christ, and you'd like to make sure, check out YOURS FOR LIFE!