“Wait, you’re a Christian?!” This is a sobering and convicting question, especially if it comes from someone who has known you for some time. It implies that you’ve either been compartmentalizing your faith or living so counterintuitively to it that your belief comes as a genuine surprise. Are there any people who know you that would be surprised to learn you’re a Christian? Put another way, are there any people who have known you for a while but don’t know the most important thing about you?
In 2 Corinthians 5:18, the Apostle Paul wrote that believers have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation. He goes on to write in verse 20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” Ambassadors are messengers and representatives of the one who sent them. As citizens of Heaven exiled on Earth, we spend our lives as ambassadors for the King.
We live in a constant state of representation. We can’t just turn that off. We go into work, school, church, family occasions, and hangouts as ambassadors of Christ. But how intentional we are with the role we’ve been given is completely up to us. We can choose to blend in with the people around us, bury our message, and hide who we are, or we can be faithful.
If your coworkers, family, friends, and church members met up in the same room, would they feel like they all know the same person? Or would you seem like an optical illusion that leaves a different impression on each observer? Of course, we can’t tell everyone the same depth of information about ourselves. There are many things that need to be kept private for good reason. But are we consistent in presenting the essence of who we are to all the people who know us?
A tendency toward pride and people-pleasing is wired into all of us to some extent. The easiest way to please more people is to share less information. The less people know about our core values and views as presented in Scripture, the more agreeable and approachable we seem to be. It’s tempting to substitute the message of reconciliation for mere niceness and pleasantness. However, true ambassadors do not concern themselves with pleasing anyone but their king.
So what can we do to be faithful ambassadors? Strive to be the same Christlike person in all environments. Don’t be a chameleon Christian. If you would normally say something about God at a certain point in conversation with a believer, say the same thing in a conversation with an unbeliever. Don’t filter your language down to a secularly appropriate level. They certainly don’t apologize for speaking unfiltered to you! Don’t remove words of praise for God, vulnerable glimpses into your brokenness, and your passion for serving God. Be the same from all angles. Leave everyone with the same picture, whether they get to see the strokes up close or from afar.
Vita says: Very well said! Great practical advices in both posts. I feel convicted for asking unintentionally hurtful questions and filtering conversation when I should not have. Both narratives are thought provoking and very relevant. Thank you for speaking up on those important things….
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