“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. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.“
2 Corinthians 5:20-21

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An ambassador is someone whose role is to officially represent the interests of his or her country within a foreign land. As ambassadors of Christ, we have the role of representing the interests of our Lord within this world. What is the primary interest of the One whom we represent? It is the reconciliation of people to God.

Interestingly, God has chosen us, His followers, to be the conduit through whom He makes His appeal to men and women, boys and girls. We have been commissioned as His spokespersons to communicate a message of grace and truth. Paul’s passion for the fulfillment of this mission can be appreciated in his declaration, “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

The next sentence is a succinct encapsulation of the atonement. Jesus, God Himself, became sin. Can you imagine it? And in Jesus—also fully human—we became the righteousness of God. This was God’s plan to achieve the reconciliation of creation to Himself,

Reconciliation is the restoration of a broken relationship. Restoration requires someone to absorb the cost of the pain of the fracture. God did this Himself. From the very beginning, humanity has been turning away from God’s good plan, God’s invitation of relationship, God’s idea of a society built on justice and rightness.  All this Jesus took on and bore on the cross. In dying, we too died and are therefore set free from our life-bondage to sin. In His resurrection, we too rose to a new life no longer in bondage.

But it gets better. Now, we are invited to become the righteousness of God. More, we are invited to become God’s ambassadors, as God makes His appeal through us! Now we can implore each other on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God!

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • What is some interest, activity, or relationship in your life that would allow you to rub shoulders with people with whom you could share your story as an ambassador of Christ?
  • If your story does not contain within it a clear explanation of the gospel, how could you incorporate it? How should the fact that Jesus became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God influence your decision-making when faced with temptation?

Church Reading Plan: 

  • Today, May 3: Song of Solomon 8; Hebrews 8
  • Saturday, May 4: Isaiah 1; Hebrews 9
  • Sunday, May 5: Isaiah 2; Hebrews 10