Christ's Personal Representative
Dear Friends,
In Ephesians 4:1 (NIV) Paul urges us "to live a life worthy of the calling you have received". Our calling is to follow Christ and be his ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20 NLT) or as the Amplified Bible puts it "Christ's personal representatives".
That's quite a privilege and a responsibility isn't it? I need to remember as I go about my daily business, that I'm Christ's personal representative. I am to represent him in the things I say and do.
This week I needed to go to my local pharmacy to collect and pay for some of Jason's and my prescriptions. Now, I'm no maths genius but I could tell from the figure the chemist gave me that she had totalled it up wrong, she had missed off the cost of one of the prescriptions. As a follower of Christ and one of his representatives, I knew that I needed to point out that she had undercharged me. She thanked me for my honesty and seemed surprised I had pointed out her mistake to her.
In any situation we face, you and I, as Christ's ambassadors, have a choice to make regarding our actions and speech. In my encounter with the chemist I could have chosen not to reveal that a mistake had been made. It may be tempting to think, I'm not hurting anyone, it's the cashier's fault, no-one will know about it or I'm glad she got it wrong, money's been tight this month. But even though it was the cashier who had made the mistake, for me to keep quiet about it is dishonest and stealing. Not such a great representative of Christ, is it? I can tell myself, nobody is hurt by this, but the truth is that others are hurt by it, and more importantly God is grieved over my actions, I've sinned and I too am hurt by my actions as it damages my relationship with God. Whilst others may not find out about my dishonest actions, I will always know and God definitely knows, we can't hide anything from him. When I make the right choices I am representing Christ in such a way that brings glory to God.
God has provided us with the power and the authority to be Christ's representative to the world by giving us his Holy Spirit. We need to listen to his voice as he prompts us to certain actions, as he prompts us in what to say, and as he guides us against other actions. The more we listen to him and follow his guidance, the more familiar we will be with his voice and the easier it gets to recognise him. The opposite is also true, when we resist his leading and direction time after time, choosing our own way, it becomes less easy to hear and recognise his voice.
As Christ's ambassadors we are here to give an accurate representation of who Christ is. We need to make sure that we are portraying Christ well to those who don't yet know him. I am his representative at all times, wherever I am and whoever I'm with; whether at home as I take care of my family, at work with my colleagues, at church, socialising with friends, waiting in a queue or chatting with neighbours. They need to see Christ in us so that we can share with them the good news of knowing Christ for themselves. As Christ's representatives we are to share his message of peace and reconciliation with God. If we are to accurately represent Christ to the world, then we need to know him well ourselves. Christ is not to be some passing acquaintance, or a distant relative who we see every now and again. We're to know him as we know our closest friends, to know him in depth just as we know our husband or wife. The only way that we will truly know Christ is by spending time with him, quality time with him, not a few minutes grabbed here and there.
To Think About:
Do you know Christ to such a level that you are able to give an accurate representation of him? If the answer is no, what will you do to change this?
When is it easier to represent him and when is it harder? Ask God for his help, especially when it is hard.
In what area of your life do you think God may be challenging you to become a better representative? Will you take up the challenge?
Vicki
In Ephesians 4:1 (NIV) Paul urges us "to live a life worthy of the calling you have received". Our calling is to follow Christ and be his ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20 NLT) or as the Amplified Bible puts it "Christ's personal representatives".
That's quite a privilege and a responsibility isn't it? I need to remember as I go about my daily business, that I'm Christ's personal representative. I am to represent him in the things I say and do.
This week I needed to go to my local pharmacy to collect and pay for some of Jason's and my prescriptions. Now, I'm no maths genius but I could tell from the figure the chemist gave me that she had totalled it up wrong, she had missed off the cost of one of the prescriptions. As a follower of Christ and one of his representatives, I knew that I needed to point out that she had undercharged me. She thanked me for my honesty and seemed surprised I had pointed out her mistake to her.
In any situation we face, you and I, as Christ's ambassadors, have a choice to make regarding our actions and speech. In my encounter with the chemist I could have chosen not to reveal that a mistake had been made. It may be tempting to think, I'm not hurting anyone, it's the cashier's fault, no-one will know about it or I'm glad she got it wrong, money's been tight this month. But even though it was the cashier who had made the mistake, for me to keep quiet about it is dishonest and stealing. Not such a great representative of Christ, is it? I can tell myself, nobody is hurt by this, but the truth is that others are hurt by it, and more importantly God is grieved over my actions, I've sinned and I too am hurt by my actions as it damages my relationship with God. Whilst others may not find out about my dishonest actions, I will always know and God definitely knows, we can't hide anything from him. When I make the right choices I am representing Christ in such a way that brings glory to God.
God has provided us with the power and the authority to be Christ's representative to the world by giving us his Holy Spirit. We need to listen to his voice as he prompts us to certain actions, as he prompts us in what to say, and as he guides us against other actions. The more we listen to him and follow his guidance, the more familiar we will be with his voice and the easier it gets to recognise him. The opposite is also true, when we resist his leading and direction time after time, choosing our own way, it becomes less easy to hear and recognise his voice.
As Christ's ambassadors we are here to give an accurate representation of who Christ is. We need to make sure that we are portraying Christ well to those who don't yet know him. I am his representative at all times, wherever I am and whoever I'm with; whether at home as I take care of my family, at work with my colleagues, at church, socialising with friends, waiting in a queue or chatting with neighbours. They need to see Christ in us so that we can share with them the good news of knowing Christ for themselves. As Christ's representatives we are to share his message of peace and reconciliation with God. If we are to accurately represent Christ to the world, then we need to know him well ourselves. Christ is not to be some passing acquaintance, or a distant relative who we see every now and again. We're to know him as we know our closest friends, to know him in depth just as we know our husband or wife. The only way that we will truly know Christ is by spending time with him, quality time with him, not a few minutes grabbed here and there.
To Think About:
Do you know Christ to such a level that you are able to give an accurate representation of him? If the answer is no, what will you do to change this?
When is it easier to represent him and when is it harder? Ask God for his help, especially when it is hard.
In what area of your life do you think God may be challenging you to become a better representative? Will you take up the challenge?
Vicki
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