Your Mission is a Ministry

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 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.

I am going to assume that you said, “Yes” to all eight questions on the Quick Quiz. That would mean you have a Biblical worldview. If this is not true, then please email me your specific questions or concerns and we will respond to them one by one, during the weeks to come. Today we will review the remainder of the promises in the above verse.

But, before you continue on, pray that the Love of Christ will control you in everything you say, do and think. Meditate on the New qualities that he has promised will replace the Old, and transform your life in ways that will draw others to Christ through you.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ
Define Reconcile: to reestablish a close relationship between; to settle or resolve; to bring oneself to accept: he finally reconciled himself to the change in management; to make compatible or consistent: reconcile my way of thinking with yours.

And gave us the ministry of reconciliation: Here is Christ’s purpose for you and I. And you received this ministry when you became a Christian. It is already in effect. How are you doing? Your mission has already started whether you recognize that fact or not. Your family, friends, co-workers and anyone else you might come into contact with … God wants to speak to them through you. There may be only one person God wants to reach through you in your entire life and that person could be the next Billy Graham, or it could be hundreds of people. I have only been writing this blog for a few weeks and there are already over fifty people reading each post. Believe me, it is that one person who has never prayed to receive Christ who I am speaking to more than you will ever know. Also those of you who are Christians, but who are still drifting aimlessly, this blog is for you. Be reconciled to Christ! And you who are Spiritual, hopefully God will give you a new idea ... a way to reach out to someone new. But, the ones who are in my heart and who I write to everyday, might not read these words for ten to twenty years from now or more. They are my grandchildren. More than anything else I want them to be able to look at this when they are adults and better understand who I am and what I believed and how much I love them. I was led to Christ by Zig Ziglar because he lives what he believes, and he was bold enough to tell me what I needed to hear. That is what a minister of reconciliation does. They never stop living the love of Christ, and encouraging those in their circle of influence to “be reconciled to God”. I was drawn to Christ through Zig, because the love of Christ was controlling him.

Does that mean that you or I are perfect? Does it mean that all of a sudden we are trained counselors with all of the answers to everyone’s problems? In our dreams! But we do have the perfect model, and Jesus and his word have the answers and solutions for all of life’s weaknesses and problems, and we can help others grow in Christ. Jesus wants us to be submissive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and allow the love of Christ to control us. On a personal level, I can think of a number of people close to me whom I have offended and who I have serious conflict with. Nothing can be more devastating than this to Christians. It becomes a barrier between the believer and Christ's love. I have tried to reach out to them, without success. All I can say to them, as they read this is: I love you, and please forgive me. You know who you are. Please forgive me, in the same way Jesus has forgiven you. And I can pray God will speak to their hearts as he has to mine. Does it really matter who is right or wrong? Is a person controlled by the love of Christ unable to forgive? NO! The only option Christians following Christ have … is to forgive. Any other response is to not allow the Love of Christ to control them. “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times, when he sins against me? If we cannot master forgiveness in our heart, how can the love of Christ control us? How can we perform our duties as a minister of reconciliation?

Christ’s ambassadors … Now, think about this, God sees you as his ambassador. He has left you here with a specific mission. From God’s perspective you are a citizen of his eternal kingdom and he has kept you here to represent Jesus and his message of peace, love, and forgiveness. How are you doing with your mission? On a personal level, I got off track there for a while, but I re-focused on my purpose and my mission and guess what, Jesus was right there waiting for me with never-ending grace, peace, and love.

Define ambassador: A diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and accredited as representative in residence by one government or sovereign to another, usually for a specific length of time. A diplomatic official heading his or her country's permanent mission to certain international organizations, such as the United Nations; An authorized messenger or representative.

In closing: You are an Ambassador for Christ with a ministry of reconciliation and God is pleading through you to all you come into contact with: I implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Recap: How will this be accomplished?
1. The impression you leave on others as the love of Christ guides you through your day.
2. Witnessing the Good News of Jesus Christ. Do you know how to share what you believe?
3. Discipling others into living their mission on a daily basis.

Are you ready?

God has a plan for you today and all the tomorrows of your life.
God bless you ... my friend! Bob

WE HAVE A MISSION!