We Were Made for More than this: We are Ambassadors

Does life ever feel empty to you? Pointless? Meaningless? I’ve felt that way

before, and I know before my husband met God in a real way a few years ago, he

used to frequently say: ‘I have nothing to live for.’ And that is true: if you haven’t

met Jesus yet. But now that I have, I have experienced what can only be referred

to as a ‘paradigm shift’! it’s as if the scales fell off! On the day I first recognized

God’s kindness to me in my very existence, I turned to His word to see what else I

could find out about Him. And today, in 2 Corinthians 5, I discover that I feel the

same way Paul does. Paul trusts God’s goodness so much that he can’t wait to

live in his presence forever, and I finally see what he means. God has set eternity

in the hearts of men. In other words, we really don’t want our lives to end. We

want to go on living! True, life is hard, and full of trials, but we long for something

more. And God has something more for us, if only we would believe Him. if we do

believe Him, and look forward to being with Him forever, this is how it will look

for us while we wait for His return:

1. Since He has given us His Spirit as a down payment, we now live with a

confidence that our salvation is a sure thing. And what a gift that is! Living

without the fear of dying, because we know that there is something so

much better waiting for us! We know that while we are here on this earth,

that we are away from the Lord. But we prefer to be with the Lord and so

we look forward to that day.

2. No matter where we are, we think of Him and make it our aim to be

pleasing to Him. is that your desire? Do you even give it a thought? There

was a time when I did not. By now I know you know some of my story, but

if it can help anyone, then I want to share again what I have learned

through it. There was a time when I believed that nothing bad would

happen if I lived right. But what is that exactly? I didn’t really know, some

form of the 10 commandments I suppose, but completely missing the heart

of God. if we don’t get to know God, we cannot possibly love Him. So, when

my world fell apart, I was not ready. In fact, I felt that God had let me

down, when nothing could be further from the truth. What He did, though,

was to allow me to go my own way for a while, and that ended up showing

me the ugliness that was in my own heart apart from Him. So, when I

ended up in a desert, in a lonely place, He whispered to me: ‘get to know

Me. It will make you happy.’ I didn’t believe Him at first, but as I read my

Bible, my love for Him started to grow. And when I read what Jesus did for

me, even while I was rebelling against Him, I saw Him with new eyes. A

‘paradigm shift’. And now? What do I want more than anything? To live the

rest of my life for Him: to be pleasing to Him. And, did you also know, that

that is not a hard thing: we are told to ‘find out what pleases the Lord’ and

‘His yoke is easy: and his burden is light’. And then you will experience your

‘paradigm shift’. Joy. Peace. Because when you start seeking the Lord

every day, He reveals more and more about Himself, and you will find

yourself filled with joy, even in the middle of uncertain circumstances!

3. We are now people who know ‘the fear of the Lord’. And because of that,

we try to persuade people! I was talking with my grandson in the car

yesterday, and we were listening to ‘Tremble’ by Lauren Daigle. I was

explaining to him that one day when we see God face to face, we will

tremble in His presence. And that is because He is awe-inspiring! Imagine

the way you feel in a storm. Or alone at the edge of the ocean. Or at the

Grand Canyon, or even at Red Rocks in Colorado. Amazed. In awe. And the

One who created all that will be worthy of greater honor than the things He

created. No one has ever seen God, but one day we will, and if we are wise,

we will live lives that show a healthy respect for our Creator! But not only

that, we have a Creator who longs to have a relationship with us: he made

us, he wired us for eternity, and he wants us to want to spend it with Him.

All that takes is humility on our part, to agree with God that our sin is sin

and needs to go, and then the adventure begins! Maybe you are like I was

and trapped in some sin that seems attractive. Hard to turn away from. It

could be a relationship that is not honoring to God, bitterness over the way

someone has treated you, or just living for today. So many things can keep

us from knowing God! But if we are honest, we know that when we are

trapped in those things, that we live with a sense of uneasiness. Well,

guess what! You don’t have to stay there: you can stop listening to the

enemy of our souls and be reconciled to God. When I first turned back to

the Lord and had to let go of my sin, I had to cut it out completely. No

‘provision’ to go back. And then the miracle happened! It no longer looked

attractive. In fact, I saw it from God’s perspective. It was something that He

had to die for. And now I don’t want anything to keep me from this

relationship with Him! Maybe today will be the day you start your own

adventure with God. He doesn’t care what you have done, only that you

turn away from it and come to Him in humility. How awesome is that!

4. We don’t look at people from a worldly perspective anymore. We care

about them: we look at them and long to share Jesus with them. Do we

just look at people and judge them by what we see? By the things they do

or have done to hurt us? Or do we care enough to go below the surface,

find out what their hurts are, and point them to the Healer. When I first

started to read my Bible again, I also started to notice people. So many

people! And they are all ones that Jesus died for, and some are headed for

eternity without Him. Do I care? It will show by the way I live. I share my

story with boldness, because it’s the thing God used to open my eyes. I

have said this before, but it needs to be said here too. My husband said the

other day: ‘the day I stop sharing my story is the day I’m probably gonna

die.’ We laughed, but it’s true. If Jesus is real to you, then you have a story

too! And someone needs to hear it. If Jesus is not the most important thing

about you, then you might not really know Him. Read the book of John in

the Bible and see if that doesn’t make you hungry for more!

5. We don’t look at Jesus Christ from a worldly perspective anymore, either. I

used to do this. I knew He died on the cross for my sins, but it didn’t really

change the way I lived. I knew He would forgive me again, so I didn’t value

the grace He poured out on the cross. But now all that has changed: He

opened my eyes and I hope that I will never forget again what He did for

me: I will be forever grateful. If you have met Jesus but you are still living

the way you want to without regard for Him and His word, then maybe you

should re-evaluate. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation! You simply

cannot be reconciled to God and still live to please yourself. He died to save

you from the things that want to destroy you. If you take a step toward

Him, He will meet you there. And then you will want to spend the rest of

your life telling people what Jesus has done for you. You will be an

ambassador for Christ, allowing God to make His appeal to the lost through

you. We plead on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God! Be an ambassador,

don’t get lulled to sleep. Let’s wake up and take hold of what is truly life,

and that can only be found in Jesus, and then…. let’s bring as many as we

can with us! Today is the day of salvation!

‘Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through

us. We plead on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God. He made the one who did

not know sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of

God. Working together with him, we also appeal to you. “Don’t receive the grace

of God in vain.” For he says: At an acceptable time I listened to you, and in the

day of salvation I helped you. See, now is the acceptable time, now is the day of

salvation!’ (2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2)

So look for opportunities to share your story: your story matters! It can help someone to turn from their empty way of life and turn to Jesus. The joy you will have! Have coffee with a friend, go for a walk with a neighbor, live life with an open hand and you will start to see your own opportunities to share what Jesus has done for you. Be an ambassador.