2 Corinthians 5:20-21: “So we are ambassadors for Christ since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Today's episode reminds us that we are called to be ambassadors for Christ. We are called to live our lives as an example of Christ so that when others look at us, they want to come closer to Christ. Music:"Adding the Sun"fine us. It is not fun, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Be Bold & Be An Ambassador For Christ!
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 “So we are ambassadors for Christ since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
I love this verse because it reminds us that we are all ambassadors for Christ. This is true whether we want to be or not. The fact is that when you are Catholic and when you are Christian, people are always watching you. They are watching what you are doing and what you are saying. They are watching to see how “Catholics” or “Christians” act. If you are a Christian, your life is a witness to Christ. What type of witness are you?
Everything we do and say is evaluated. I had a friend who said she stopped going to church because she was tired of going for fellowship after mass, and it would just turn into a gossip session where they would talk about all those who weren’t there. Or sometimes, those who were there but just not in earshot of their conversation. She got tired of these people who said they were Christian and went to church each week and yet were so full of judgment and gossip.
Unfortunately, my friend’s story is not all that uncommon. There are plenty of people who have left the church for things that have either happened in the church or at the church. I know several people who have left the church because of the abuse scandal that was going on within the church. I do not blame those who left. The priests and those who follow Christ are held to a higher standard. This is because we represent Christ. We are His followers and also his ambassadors.
It is our job to represent Christ. When people look at us, we want them to see Christ. We want them to look at us and say, “I want what they have.” Instead, a lot of times, others will see us getting angry and lashing out, gossiping, or treating others disrespectfully, and instead of saying, “I want what they have,” they say, “If that is what it is like to be Christian, then I don’t want any part of it.” We are all human, and we all make mistakes. However, the more we can be Christ-like, the more others will recognize that there is something different about us, and they will want to see what that is.
I had the opportunity to witness the peace of Christ this weekend at a conference I went to. I was in charge of booking the Uber to get us to and from the conference. It was a somewhat easy job, and I didn’t mind at all. The conference went from Thursday after until Saturday night. We didn’t really have any issues Thursday. Friday morning, the Uber came as scheduled, and our day was off to a great start. Each time we got out of the Uber, we asked the Uber driver if he needed us to pray for anything for him, and they always thanked us and told us what prayers they needed. Mostly, they just said for their health and or their families.
This morning was no different. As I gave the Uber driver the tip money, I asked what he wanted prayer for, and he said for his health, he was having some problems. We said we were headed into the church and we would pray for him. He thanked us and drove away. As soon as we got into the church, I looked for my phone and realized I must have left it in the back seat of the Uber. This is typically not too much of a problem as Uber has a great way to let them know you forgot something in the car. However, it was my Uber account we were using, and I didn’t have my phone.
I couldn’t just report it on the app because I didn’t have my phone. I tried to sign into the app on my friend's phone, but Uber sent a code to my email to ensure it was me. I tried to sign into my email on my friend’s phone, but they sent a code to my phone number to ensure it was me. So, long story short, I could not get ahold of Uber without my phone. Then, I remembered, I am sure the Holy Spirit reminded me, that I had my computer back at the hotel, and I was signed into Uber and my email both on that. So, I just let go of all the worry and stress and reached out to Uber when I returned to the hotel that night.
I also asked those around me to pray that I get my phone back. However, the rest of the day, I just let it go. I did not really worry about it or stress about it. There wasn’t anything I could do to change it, so I turned it over to God. When I returned to the hotel, I contacted Uber through their website. They contacted the driver, and he called the following day. He had to drive to an airport not too far away, so he dropped my phone off at the hotel at 9 AM Saturday morning. I was already at the conference for the day, but I got it when I got back to the hotel at 11 PM that night. Aside from being without it for two days and the fee I needed to pay for having the driver come and return it, it all worked out.
I am telling you this story because I could have freaked out about losing my phone, yelled, screamed, and cried, letting it ruin my entire two days at the conference. I could have gotten angry and lashed out at those around me. However, I didn’t. I accepted the situation I was in. I accepted that there was nothing I could do to change it until I returned to the hotel. I turned it over to God, the only one who could do anything about it, and I let it go. I was at the conference with about 13 other people. They all mentioned how well I was handling the situation. They mentioned that they didn’t think they would have been that calm. I could say that I could do nothing and that God would take care of things. I was able to be a witness to Christ through that circumstance.
We all have difficult circumstances in our lives. How are we responding to them? Do we remember that God is in control and uses all things for our good? Do we remember that we are children of God? Do we remember that there is someone bigger than ourselves at work in our situations? Do we remember that others are watching to see if what we say is really true? They are watching to see if we truly believe what we say. If we tell others that things will be ok and that all they need to do is trust in God, and then when something falls apart in our lives, we don’t trust in God. Then, of course, they are not going to believe us.
We need to be bold and stand by what we say. We need to be bold and live the Gospel. We need to trust in the Lord, even when it is hard. We need to forgive others even when it is hard. We need to love our neighbors even when we don’t want to. Whether we like it or not, God is counting on us to be His face to the world. He is counting on us to be His ambassadors and His examples. If we, the ones who love God and know how much he loves us, can’t live the Gospel, how can we expect others to? Be Bold and be the face of Christ to others.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, we love you, and we want to be your ambassadors. Please help us! We want to be the face of Christ to all those we meet. We want others to look at us, see all the gifts You have given us, and want what we have. We want to bring others to you, Lord; show us how. Help us to live the Gospels in a way that encourages others to live the Gospels, too! We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to seeing you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in September 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “My children, you may look like a ragtag bunch, but there's a glow coming from your face. And when you assemble together, that glow is brilliance. And that glow is still there when you walk into your individual lives. That is me. And you are touching people just by being yourself. You are my tool for reaching others. I send you forth. I am always with you. Be courageous.”