2 Corintians 5:20 Me Represent God?
“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.” (NIV).
It has often been said: “You may be the only Jesus some people see.” It might equally be said, “You may be the only Bible some people ever read.” Those are two immense responsibilities. I may not want those responsibilities, but I may not have a choice. People who have not read the Bible have no other way to understand who Jesus is or what His purpose is. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (NIV). Those words were spoken at the moment to Jesus’s disciples, but they are meant for all who follow Him, for He desires that all of us be His witnesses. So we are called to be His witnesses and His ambassadors. That’s our calling, and we need to make sure that we do our best to carry out both tasks.
We do know that the public in general looks at us with the desire to catch us up in mistakes, in not behaving like Jesus. We know we can’t be entirely like Jesus, but we can ask Him to help us to grow more like Him every day. Perhaps the best we can do is keep growing more in His likeness so that people see the changes in us and understand that there must be something special about the relationship we have with our Lord. When we do fail, and we will, and speak unkindly or act in a most unchristian way, it is important that we acknowledge that we have failed to those we have wronged and to ask for forgiveness. Their answers may not be satisfying to us, but the act of asking for forgiveness will probably remain in their minds and hearts and, perhaps when added to like behavior of other Christians, may cause them to wonder about this Jesus and also cause them to seek to learn more, perhaps even enough to ask Him for forgiveness themselves.
We are seen as representatives of Jesus, and, as such, we need to pray earnestly for His guidance daily.