Mr. Ambassador

There are plenty of people in the world whose choices are beyond my understanding. Harvey Weinstein, the media mogul, who stands accused of multiple sexual assaults, is a cipher to me.  Why would he treat women that way? The guy who leaves a productive life behind to live on the street, why? The addict who keeps going back to the same places and people after rehab, reentering the destructive spiral into drug abuse, why? The woman who lives in constant drama, stirring up strife in her family; why?  The easy response to people who are ‘different,’ those whose lives are ‘sinful’ in my estimation,  is avoidance or dismissal. Judged, condemned, ignored.

But … God did not give me the gavel, He handed me the towel. I’m no judge, I am a servant! Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians about this very thing. They were an argumentative group, full of spiritual pride, competing with each other to be ‘’more spiritual.” He told them they were seriously in error, not understanding even themselves, what God had done for them, and their true mission.  Read these inspired words slowly, prayerfully.

• "For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

• Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us 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. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:14-21, NIV)

We are beloved children of God, restored to our place with Him by the love of Christ Jesus. And what is one of the results of that change in identity?  “Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look.”  Even those whose behaviors are beyond our understanding, whose sins are gross, find love in us! We stop dismissing others, choosing who’s in and who’s out! As the Spirit teaches us that we are beloved, we love – more and deeply.  We still have the discernment to understand right and wrong, to speak honestly to sin, but we love people like Jesus loved us.

Paul says that this change is the result of an inner transformation, being made into a ‘new creation.’  In the ‘old’ way people naturally fight and compete. In the ‘new’ way, we take up the mission of reconciliation. God looked at the world and instead of destroying it and starting over, He entered it to restore it through His Son. “God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins.” Now what? He sends us, secured in His love, humble because we know we did not save ourselves, to continue that work of peace-making. Our message is not – “Go to Hell!” It is “Come home to the Father!” 

Ah, Christian, do you meet your world with a judge’s stare or open hands?  Yes, we are given the privilege of being the ambassadors of the Kingdom, representing God, inviting others to find wholeness of person and hope for eternal life. Paul says, “We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.”

For too long, too many of us have decided to dismiss those we have already judged as inferior, worthless, and beyond redemption. It is time to repent of that spiritual pride, to ask the Spirit of God to break our hard hearts, to hold us close so that we will be loved and loving.  Ask yourself today – am I a good ambassador of Christ? Do I invite others, in my words and my choices, to consider the love of Jesus as a treasure to be accepted in faith?

Here is a word from the Word.  It is a part of the same text above, this time from The Message.  God, make it my mission to be – Mr. Ambassador!
"Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do. Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own. Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. …  

What we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! …  God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God." (2 Corinthians 5:14-21, The Message)

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Reckless Love

(worship with this song about His love)

Before I spoke a word
You were singing over me

You have been so so good to me

Before I took a breath
You breathed Your life in me

You have been so so kind to me

O the overwhelming never-ending reckless

Love of God

O it chases me down fights 'til I'm found

Leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it I don't deserve

Still You give Yourself away

O the overwhelming never-ending reckless

Love of God

When I was Your foe still Your love fought for me

You have been so so good to me

When I felt no worth You paid it all for me

You have been so so kind to me

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

Caleb Culver | Cory Asbury | Ran Jackson

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