Week of 5/5-5/11: New - The Mission of God's People

Day Three: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 For Jesus’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised. From now on, then, we do not know anyone in a purely human way. Even if we have known Jesus in a purely human way, yet now we no longer know Him in this way. Therefore, if anyone is in Jesus, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Jesus and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: That is, in Jesus, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Jesus, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Jesus’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS IS A LONG TIME to live a complete lie. But that is exactly what Marilee Jones, the Dean of Admissions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has admitted to doing. MIT is regarded as one of the greatest educational institutions in the United States and the person who represented them was living a lie.

What was the lie? Ms. Ones did not have the qualifications that she claimed. She lied on her resume almost 30 years ago about having very important degrees that she did not have. The woman who represented the school to prospective students was a total hypocrite!

We look at someone like Marilee and wonder how she could have lived a lie that long. Yet, many who claim to follow Christ misrepresent Him even more. It is important to remember that as a Jesus follower, you are a representative, an ambassador of Him. According to these verses in 2 Corinthians 5, God has committed the message of reconciliation to you. You are an ambassador for Jesus.

As an ambassador for Christ, your life holds great significance. Your actions tell a story. Where you find pleasure matters. If you find more pleasure in sin than you find pleasure in God, you are misrepresenting the life that Jesus has called us to live.

Today, focus on representing Jesus accurately in every area of your life.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What does it mean to be an ambassador?

▷▷On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate yourself on accurately representing Christ in your everyday life?

▷▷What are some ways to improve that score and become a better ambassador for Christ?