Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”
2 Corinthians 5:20

What Is An Ambassador?

When you first look at this verse, you may not recognize the fullness of the charge we are given by it. That’s fine…I did not either when I read it the first hundred or so times! Fortunately, it has finally clicked for me and I want to pass my thoughts on to you for consideration.

Let’s start by asking the question, “What is an ambassador?” Though the following is not the official dictionary definition, I believe it does a good job of combining various definitions and descriptions that I have found for an ambassador. Take a look:

An ambassador is a dignitary whose full-time job is to live for a period (usually years) in a foreign land, intentionally building relationships with the people native to that land and purposefully representing to those people the desires of his king.

If you will agree that this accurately describes an ambassador, then I think it would be good for us to break it down into components, applying each one to our own lives.

A Dignitary

The first part of this definition I want to cover is “dignitary.” A dignitary is a person considered to be important because of high rank or office. If the U.S. were to send to a foreign country an ambassador that had absolutely no authority, no knowledge, no “rank” at all, then the only reasonable expectation would be failure. No one would take them seriously, right?

The same is true of us. Whether we realize it or not, we are all dignitaries of our King. We are children and heirs of the Most High God (Romans 8:16-17), the One that created everything that is! We are His chosen children…I am not sure there is a higher rank we should desire.

Lives In A Foreign Land…

An ambassadorship is a position that requires the individual to relocate to the foreign land where he is assigned. This is not a commuter job. It is not a summer job. To be effective in executing this job, the ambassador establishes a residence in the foreign country.

Once again, the same is true for you and me. This earth is not our home. Often in Scripture, we are called aliens or strangers here (1 Peter 2:11). This earth is where we are to live for a period, but it is not where we belong. We belong in heaven with our Father, only here for a time.

…For A Period

Though the ambassador does relocate to the foreign land and commit to living there while on the job, he also knows that at any time he could be called home. An ambassador goes into the job knowing it will not last forever. At some point, he will return to his home “country.”

We, too, will be called home some day. Some will be called home sooner than others. Whether we have a relatively long stay here or a brief tenure, we know it is only temporary (Job 14:1-2). We have a job to do while we are here, but that job will eventually end and we will return home.

Builds Relationships

The ambassador must build relationships with the people in the foreign land if he expects to be effective in his job. These people are very different in their culture and traditions. They will not easily respond to an outsider without first having a relationship with him.

If we are to be effective ambassadors in this world, we must build relationships with the people here (Matthew 9:10). We must learn what makes them tick and study their needs. We need to meet them where they are and help to meet their needs. By building solid relationships with them, we will better be able to complete the next step.

Represents The Desires Of The King

The ambassador’s job does not stop at building relationships. There is a purpose to these relationships. His purpose, from the very beginning, is to represent his “king’s” desires to the people of this foreign land. His purpose is to win them over to these desires and to convince them that these desires are in their best interests.

When we become ambassadors for Christ, we are to be doing the same thing. We should be building relationships with those around us SO THAT we can express to them the desires of our King (Matthew 28:19-20). We need them to know that God loves them and wants the best for them. They need to be convinced by us that Christ’s desires are in their best interests.

To Be Continued!

In my next post, we will look at what I would say are likely the most important aspects of the ambassador job, specifically the one we are called to fill. In the meantime, I would encourage you to take some time and think about what this verse means to you and your job or business.

Do you see yourself as an ambassador?

What part of the above descriptions gives you the most trouble?

If this is new to you, what are your thoughts right now?

Image by Fly_dragonfly / iStock

The focus of this material is also the focus of this blog – God’s call for us to run our businesses as a platform for Christian ministry. Hopefully, after reading this series, you will agree that it is God’s will that we run His businesses as stewards with an eternal perspective. You should also have a better understanding of what this looks like in today’s marketplace.

Focus on Scripture

For the next minute or two, I want you to forget about work, business, etc. and concentrate instead on the Scripture I will highlight below. This post will have the greatest impact on you if you will read each passage in full as you go. If you need to come back to this later to do that, so be it.

However, if you are like me, you will likely never come back to this. You will put it off repeatedly and then finally delete it. If that is the case, please stop now and take the time to do it right.

We Must Have An Eternal Perspective

Let’s start with these passages below. You can follow along in your Bible or just click on the Scripture links.

1. Psalm 39:5
2. Psalm 144:3-4
3. Job 14:1-2

From these verses, it is crystal clear that as humans, our life is extremely short. The Psalmist calls our life a vapor. Job calls it a shadow that does not last.

Question # 1 – Do you TRULY BELIEVE that our lives are short and not guaranteed?

Surviving The Fire

Next, let’s read the following passages:

1. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15
2. Matthew 6:19

It is easy to see from these verses that a day is coming when everything on earth will be tested by fire. Only those things we have done that survive this fire will bring us reward. Everything else will burn.

Even between now and that day, we can expect rust, moths, and thieves to destroy or steal anything temporary we possess. Nothing we think we own today is guaranteed to survive intact for our entire lives, much less for eternity. It is all subject to the elements or theft.

Question # 2 – Do you TRULY BELIEVE that all of your earthly possessions will deteriorate and eventually be destroyed on this side of eternity?

Laying Up Treasure

Finally, take a look at these verses:

1. Matthew 6:20-21
2. 1 Timothy 6:17-19
3. 1 Corinthians 3:14

In these verses, God promises us that we can store treasure in heaven that will survive the fire. He promises that, in effect, we can make deposits into an eternal savings account for future use! The only requirement is that we understand the difference between temporal and eternal value.

Question # 3 – Do you TRULY BELIEVE that we can store treasure in heaven through our actions here on earth?

Summing Up The Eternal Perspective

I want you to read back over the three questions listed above. If you answered any of these questions with a “No,” then I recommend you do further study on the infallibility of Scripture. You are certainly welcome to disagree, but, if so, the rest of this post will pretty much be meaningless to you.

IF, and I mean only IF, you answered “Yes” to all three of these questions, then I want you to answer two final questions.

Final Question #1 – Does your personal life (decisions, actions, focus) reflect the fact that you believe these three truths?

Final Question #2 – Does your business life (decisions, actions, focus) reflect the fact that you believe these three truths?

For a great visual illustration of this idea, watch this Francis Chan video on eternal perspective: