Ambassadors Of The Kingdom

Colossians 3:12-15

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. (Colossians 3:12)

IT WAS SAID OF GEORGE MÜLLER, who built and maintained orphanages in nineteenth-century England by faith and remarkable answers to prayer, that hearing him pray was like overhearing a conversation between intimate friends. Müller’s familiarity with God not only came through in his prayers; his attitude gave people glimpses of heaven. He was so saturated in his conversations with God that God’s character and presence shone through.

The people around you need a taste of heaven. This should come as no surprise; they are immersed in a fallen world day after day, and many don’t even know there’s a promise of something better. While many Christians are focused on what God wants them to do—an important question, to be sure—a more important focus is on what God wants us to be. Does he want us to behave like those around us or be different? Fit the context or stand out from it? Speak words that are expected or offer words of hope?

It is extremely important to remember that you are in this world as a representative of something beyond it. Your passport is issued by another realm. You carry its papers. As an ambassador of the culture of God’s Kingdom, you exude hope, kindness, mercy, gentleness, patience, and several other positive attributes the people around you don’t expect. Many are used to hearing Christians speak of God’s displeasure, disappointment, and disagreement with the ways of the world. But these people are already aware of their brokenness. What they need is a message of hope and restoration. If you have immersed yourself in the presence of God and the ways of his Kingdom, that’s exactly what you will give them.

Live in such a way that people who spend time with you feel as if they have encountered another realm, a place of love, joy, and hope. Saturate yourself in God’s presence, and let it flow from you. Your calling to “do” will come sooner or later. Your calling to “be” is for today.

{Holy Spirit, fill me with your presence. May I sense your sweetness and personality not only in our quiet conversations but even in the busyness of my daily affairs. Let me soak up your nature like a sponge and, when squeezed, release it freely to others. Amen.