Let’s Faithfully Represent Christ in This World  

Earlier this year I had spoken with a good friend from my college days after hearing that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. So it was not unexpected when I received the news last week of his passing. As I tuned in to watch the livestream of his funeral service, it brought back many memories. He had arrived at the college from Japan, not knowing much at all of the English language. As we became friends, I tried to assist him with his frequent questions about our words and idioms. I’m not sure I was the best person to do so. Since we were on a small Bible college campus in Iowa, my Southern dialect and expressions made me somewhat of a foreigner too. I think I was helpful, although it did lead to some humorous incidents. I vividly recall my friend frantically searching through his dictionary with a confused expression on his face as he asked, “Y’all? Y’all? What is y’all?”

    In a sense, we have a similar task as citizens of the kingdom of God. The Bible declares that “we are ambassadors for Christ” (II Corinthians 5:20). We should be faithfully representing our Lord to the citizens of this world. We are interpreters of His Word to those who don’t speak its language. Our words, actions, and lives should be examples of what it means to be followers of Jesus. As someone has suggested, “We are the only Bible some people will read.” They are looking at us as they try to translate and comprehend what it means to be a Christian. The question is: Are we giving them a good and fair representation of our Lord, His kingdom, and those who live under His rule?

I’m afraid that sometimes we are guilty of confusing those who are watching us. Our words and lives don’t match up with what we profess to believe. No doubt we will all falter at times in our efforts to faithfully represent Christ, but those should be the exceptions in our lives rather than the rule. If we’re consistently or frequently not being good ambassadors for the Lord, it should be a concern.

If the world sees little difference between us and those who don’t know Christ, it’s no wonder that they are prone to discredit the value of our faith. If we’re following a lifestyle that constantly involves sinful actions and selfish attitudes, then it can cause people to question what it means to be a Christian and what difference it really makes in a person’s life.  If we’re placing more priority on the things of this world than on the things of God, what are we communicating? If we’re downplaying or ignoring what the Lord of our kingdom has decreed to us through His sacred communications to us, what does that say about our commitment to Him?

It shouldn’t surprise us that the citizens of Christ’s kingdom are getting marginalized and increasingly considered irrelevant in today’s world. Some of that stems from the darkness not liking the light which exposes its sins. However, some of it also falls back on us as not being the faithful ambassadors for Christ’s kingdom as we should be. We need to become better interpreters of our faith to those around us. We need to quit sending confusing messages by our inconsistent lives. We need to get back to following what our King has revealed to us in His authoritative Word. We need to return to loving Him more than we love this world and its pleasures.

  Let’s help this world see what followers of Christ should be. Be a good ambassador for Him and His kingdom.