Does the World Really Want to Know? // Living Life as an Ambassador of Christ, Pt 3

Most of the people who believe in Jesus have a sense that part of that involves sharing their faith – sharing their Jesus – with other people. That somehow, we’re meant to be Ambassadors of Christ. But you look around at the culture in which we live, and you have to ask yourself – does anyone really want to know?  How do I share the Good News of Jesus in a world like this?

Over this week and next we're chatting about what it means to live out our lives as ambassadors of Christ. The idea's a really simple one, God's Word makes it clear. That whilst we are in this world, we're not part of it. We aren't of it. We aren't citizens of this world, we're citizens of somewhere else. Philippians chapter 3, verse 20 says:

Our citizenship is in heaven and it is from there that we're expecting a saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And not only are we citizens of heaven in a foreign world, we're ambassadors too. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20:

So we are ambassadors for Christ since God is making His appeal through us.

And through us, through you and through me, God’s intent is to make His appeal to the people of this world. That's the role of an ambassador, that's an ambassador's job. To be an emissary of the land which he or she represents. The land of which he or she is a citizen and in our case that's the Kingdom of God.

It's a great plan, this plan that God has to take every man, woman and child who believes in Jesus Christ, His Son, and who therefore is a citizen of heaven and appoint them as ambassadors in their little part of the world so that, through them, God can make His appeal, an appeal of grace and of love to people so that they'll be reconciled to Him. The question is, does anyone want to hear what we have to say?

So many people shy away from being ambassadors of Christ because they somehow imagine that it's the guy with a smooth voice on the radio. It must be his job. Or the one they see on TV or maybe, ah it's the youth pastor at Church, it must be his job being an ambassador of Christ.

We imagine somehow that being an ambassador is this great, up front role. Someone with a great public speaking style. Someone with a presence. No, that's not me. It can't possibly be my job.

Let me ask you, pretty much whatever country you live in you have ambassadors from foreign countries living in your land, performing their roles as ambassadors. So let me ask you, how often do you see them on TV or hear them on the radio or read about them in the newspaper? How often?

The answer is almost never. Sure, every now and then an ambassador might be quoted or have a short clip on TV but I know if I tripped over the ambassador of China or the ambassador of the USA in the street, I wouldn't know them from a bar of soap.

Why? Because most of the time being an ambassador isn't about being up front in the public eye, most of it is about quietly building influence one on one or with small groups so that when there is a difficult issue to be dealt with between two governments, there's a bridge already in place over which the parties can travel and talk.

When there's a sensitive trade issue or a border dispute or a difficulty with a foreign national in the country, the diplomats will talk quietly, mostly in measured tones, mostly unseen and unheard by the rest of us to resolve the issue. Diplomacy, as it turns out, is much more about individual relationships and trust than it is about overt brinkmanship or a media presence.

I wonder if we apply that model of diplomacy to our roles as ambassadors of Christ whether it doesn't cast a whole new light on the job description. We all have family and friends at work and colleagues. People with whom we already have relationships of trust.

And I wonder whether being an ambassador of Christ isn't a whole lot more about letting our goodness shine into their lives than it is about standing up on a soap box on a street corner in the mall or at a weekend crowd at the market, as I saw recently, screaming out words supposedly from God to a whole bunch of people with whom we don't have a relationship and who, therefore, don't want to listen to us.

I wonder whether it isn't a whole bunch more about quiet diplomacy than beating someone over the head with a Bible. The people whom I allow to influence me are the ones who I trust. And the ones I trust are the ones I've known for a while. I've watched them, I've observed them, they're good people. Honest, decent, have their lives together, they're faithful.

They're the ones I open my heart to. Why would we expect that it's any different in being an ambassador of Christ? Jesus put it this way, he said, Matthew chapter 5 beginning at verse 12. He said:

Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way they persecuted the Prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth but if salt loses it's taste how can it's saltiness be restored? It's no longer good for anything but it's thrown out and trampled under foot. You are the light of the world, a city built on a hill can't be hidden.

In other words, anyone who steps out into the world, who loves God, who believes in His Son, Jesus, anyone who's prepared to share that love and that faith with other people is going to be persecuted. Just look back through history, that's what you'll find, that's what Jesus is saying. That's what’s going to happen. They persecuted Him so of course they'll persecute us.

Now where I live persecution simply means maybe people reject you or they make fun of you or maybe they just keep their distance from you. Most people I know, know who I am and they know what I do, they know what I believe and even then I don't get much of that sort of stuff and even if I did it's not much of a price to pay.

But in other parts of the world persecution is very real. Prison, torture and even death. Very real. I mean look at Jesus, He was nailed to a cross but what He's saying here is be the salt of the earth anyway. Add flavour to this world, be my light anyway. Shine light into dark places. Be those things, shine my love and my truth into the hearts of the people around you.

And if you're some up front preacher, great, do that but if you're not, if you're quiet, unassuming, if you're a relationships oriented person, my oh my, what a great ambassador you're going to make.
Go and build the bridges and build the relationships and build the trust and let people see the goodness that's in your heart and in what you do. Shine light, add flavour. People like light, people want flavour, go and do that, be Gods ambassador, His emissary.

Sometimes we're so worried about whether people want to hear about Jesus or not. Sometimes we're so concerned with how they'll react. I imagine being an ambassador involves a lot of subtlety, I imagine the role involves a lot of timing, knowing when to quietly build relationships, knowing when to speak out over the hard things.

The Bible talks about speaking the truth in love and that’s what diplomacy is. I read an interesting Proverb this morning in my own personal time with God. Have a listen, Proverbs chapter 27, verse 6:

Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts but profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

See sometimes that's a friend’s job to speak the truth in love and sometimes it's hard and sometimes it hurts. But the thing I know is this, being an ambassador of Christ is the job of every disciple of Jesus. Sometimes that involves just living a good life and shining out that light. Sometimes it involves dealing with difficult issues and doing it in love. Sometimes it involves embracing your enemies.

It involves all sorts of different things at different times but each one of us who believes in Jesus is called to be, not just a believer, not just a pew sitter but an ambassador of Christ. In our own way, in our own neck of the woods.