– Colossians 3:12-17 NKJV – Character of the New Man – 12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Rest and relaxation, those rare moments of finally having a lazy afternoon during the weekend. Just sitting at home, laidback on the recliner, watching some tv, enjoying peace and happiness. But then you hear the sound of an unexpected visitor knocking on your door. Your first response is, “I’m not answering the door”. You mute the tv and then try your best to ignore whoever is at the door and not to lose focus on your quiet time. But the unexpected visitor keeps knocking at the door. Your moment of peace and happiness now turns into a moment of frustration. I love it when family and friends show up to visit us, even when they show up unexpectedly, I love the company of people I love. But an unexpected visitor? A stranger? How dare they interrupt my free time?!
Recently I had an unexpected visitor. I answered the door, reluctantly and there was a young man who introduced himself and proceeded to tell me that he works with a certain political party, and he was out to represent a certain political candidate. What party and which candidate is not relevant to this story, so there is no need for me to mention what and who. The purpose of this post has nothing to do with politics or political agendas. But this person proceeded to try and convince me to vote for his candidate by giving me about 12 reasons why I should not vote for the opposing candidate. I stood there listening to what he had to say, yes, I do not like unexpected visitors, but I do take time to listen, does not matter if it is a salesperson, a Mormon, or a Jehovah Witness. After the young man took time to bash the opposing candidate, I told him that he did not once tell me why I should vote for his candidate. The man was so focused on trying to convince me why the other person is bad but not once gave me a reason of what makes his candidate good. I said to the man that, “I appreciate your willingness to work for your political party, but I do not believe you did a good job in representing your candidate well.“ I asked him questions about his political party and candidate, but he did not have answers for me, instead he gave me a packet of information about his candidate.
After we finished our conversation, I closed my door, and tried to process the conversation. But then I started to feel bad for the guy. I felt bad because I knew what he thought he was doing was for the greater good of his political party, but I did not think he understood the right reason or purpose for representing the candidate. I then started to ponder about, do I represent Jesus well? As Christians, do we represent Jesus well? Especially when we want to do what we think is for the greater good of what we believe and for who we believe in. Does our conduct, mannerism, words, theology, doctrine, actions, attitude, and emotions lead people to Jesus or turn people away from Jesus? As ambassadors of Christ, do we represent?
Colossians 3:17 – And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
There are Christians who spend a lot of time sharing about how bad satan is, but not share as much about how good God is. Yes, satan is bad and people need to know that he is bad, but we should still give more attention to God. We should acknowledge God more of what He is doing instead of constantly acknowledging what the enemy is doing. Our focus should be to give God the glory. To testify of how great our God is. The One who defeated satan. Our savior and dread champion who conquered death and the grave.
There are Christians who spend a lot of time pointing out a person’s sin, their faults, and failures. But then not spend as much time pointing people to Jesus who delivers us from evil and sets the captives free from sin. An addict already knows they are an addict, harping on their sin does not help them. Yes, we need to share about how bad sin is, but we are to also provide hope for the sinner. To testify of how God delivered us from our addictions, how He saved us, healed us. I shared before about how for years people told me I was going to hell for the sin in my life, but not once did any of them tell me how to get to heaven. My wife was the first Christian I knew that shared with me about Jesus.
Do we represent Jesus in such a way like Colossians 3:17 that we can honestly say that whatever we do in word or deed that we do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
1 Peter 3:15-16 NKJV – 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
I mentioned earlier in my story that the young man could not answer any questions I asked him about his political candidate. How well do we understand who Jesus is? How well do we study the bible? How well do we take time in building a relationship with our heavenly Father? The simplicity of forming a relationship is getting to know as much as you can about the person you love. Just as in 1 Peter 3:15, are we always ready to give an answer to anyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that is in us? Do we get nervous and defensive about it? Or with meekness and fear, do we humbly represent Jesus by giving an answer, a testimony, a scripture?
I used to have a boss that when he would ask me a work-related question, he wanted a yes or no answer. He would get disgruntled if my answer were, “I don’t know”. So, I learned quick after making him mad several times that if I do not know the answer at that moment then I would tell him, “I do not know the answer now, but I will figure it out and will let you know something soon”. My boss always liked that answer, and he would, sometimes ha-ha, give me time to research the answer. Do not stress if you do not have all the answers at the moment when a person asks for the reason for the hope that is in you? If you do not know at the moment what the answer is then let them know you will research, it. Now with technology, if we do not have a bible with us to look up a scripture then we can go to a bible app on our phone and do a quick search. Plus, we have the Holy Spirit who helps teaches us and brings remembrance to us… John 14:26 NKJV – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
Also, in verse 1 Peter 3:15 says to “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts”. To sanctify means to be set apart. To represent Jesus well, people should know there is something different about us than how people are in the world. We are not perfect, but we should still strive for perfection. As I mentioned earlier, does our conduct, mannerism, words, theology, doctrine, actions, attitude, and emotions lead people to Jesus or turn people away from Jesus? As ambassadors of Christ, do we represent?
In closing, here is basic preparation for representing Jesus as ambassadors:
Ephesians 6:14-20 NKJV – 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
