What does it mean to be an Ambassador. When I think of ambassadors, I think of our Department of State, and the Ambassadors who are assigned to communicate and coordinate with foreign governments. They are working on behalf of The United States of America executing and supporting our foreign policy in some nation whose government we recognize as having some legitimacy. How is our role as ambassador for Christ’s Kingdom on this earth similar?

1. We are sent to a land where we are an alien (Christians are currently citizen’s of Christ’s kingdom with all the benefits that citizenship brings.)
2. We are expected to bring messages to the people living in the land where we are placed. Sometimes those messages are well received, other times they are harshly rejected, but that is less our concern than is to faithfully deliver the message as directed.
3. We are an agent of a government that is foreign to the land where we live. While we may enjoy the company of others from our home nation while we live and serve abroad, it is not a condition of our employment. We may find ourselves somewhat isolated when the local governments starts to persecute foreign nationals.
4. We are instructed to abide by the law of the land where we live and serve. While we have limited diplomatic immunity from the ultimate consequences of our actions, we may be removed from our post, or required to suffer trials when we violate local statutes. Still, there are times when our home government may require us to take these risks on their behalf to ensure that the policy is carried out as planned.

You don’t have your own interest or agenda (or at least you aren’t supposed to). As an ambassador, we are not supposed to be doing our will, making up our own policy, following our own agenda. We are not to expect or seek to be rewarded by the nation that we are sent to, our reward is secure in our homeland. While we may be rewarded by our host government, it is not for us to seek those rewards. If our homeland has a policy that may benefit our host, they may be pleased to reward us but often even those rewards are to be turned back over to our own government.

You represent a foreign nation or king or government. Jesus is King. He is our King. He is our King right now, not when we die and return to our homeland. We are to execute His policy on this earth. It is our expectation that one day, our King will conquer all of the earth and will be the King over all of it. If we try to deceive Him now, and work in ways that are counter to His policy, we will be found out and not receive our reward, which we believe is far greater than we can amass through our own effort and conniving.

You are sent to represent diplomatically (with tact and poise) one who cannot be physically present. How does that change your outlook?