106 Immanuel: God Through Us
The reality of Immanuel is that this “with us” God can actually live “in” us. And when He does, He can then do something through us.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, Paul says anyone who is in Christ is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come. But it doesn’t end there, as wonderful as that is. He goes on to say that we are now given a new responsibility. We have been given the “ministry of reconciliation.”
The Bible teaches us that because of our fallenness and through our sinfulness, we are not only separated from a holy God, we are actually His enemies. But even though we rebelled against Him, He was the one took the initiative pursue reconciliation with us.
At what cost? The death of His Son. That’s what it took to restore our relationship with Him. Surely this had to have been the greatest act of love ever demonstrated.
Reconcilers
Now, as those who have wondrously been reconciled, we are charged to go out and share with others who are still as dead and doomed as we once were and tell them that they can be freed and forgiven as we have been.
Do we do this because we’re better than them? No. We do it out of gratitude. We share the story of our reconciliation with others because someone shared the story of their reconciliation with us.
And often there are many influencers along our journey to the cross. See, most people need at least 6-12 encounters with “reconcilers” before they can begin to grasp the message of reconciliation.
In a very real sense these who shared this message of reconciliation were ambassadors of Christ.
Ambassadors
What does it mean to be an ambassador? What’s their job? They are to represent our country in a foreign land. Though they live in an embassy, their responsibility is to get outside those walls to promote our interests.
And they are very careful with what they do and what they say. Why? Because those with whom they come in contact will draw their conclusions regarding our country and its leader from the only representative they can see.
Can you begin to draw some parallels here? You and I, as citizens of God’s Kingdom, live in a sense as people in a foreign land. Jesus never told us to hide from the world but to be an influence on the world.
As God’s ambassadors, we need to ever and always keep in mind that what we say and what we do is being closely watched.
God is making His appeal through us. Like it or not, you are an ambassador. That’s not in question. The question is what sort of ambassador are you?
Text: 2 Corinthians 5:17-20a
Originally recorded on December 16, 2012, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.
Caleb Kinnaird with parents Daniel and Katie and brother Jonah receives a visit from Indianapolis Colts quarterback, Andrew Luck at Riley Hospital for Children.