Why Church Membership MattersNäide

Ambassadors

Reconciliation with God is at the heart of the Gospel message.

Because of our sin, we are estranged from God, but God made a way for us to be reconciled to Him through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Reconciliation with God changes everything.

• It changes how we handle heartbreak and betrayal.
• It changes how we view other people.
• It changes how we understand the future that awaits us.
• It changes how we forgive and seek forgiveness.
• It changes how we value things in life.

Nothing remains the same if we’ve been reconciled to God. Reconciliation with God produces a seismic shift and the shockwaves touch every part of our lives.

And reconciliation with God is the heartbeat of a gospel-grounded church. Every beat of the church’s heart should pulse with reconciliation. Reconciliation is not something the church keeps near us, but something that flows through us. It’s not right at our fingertips, it’s streaming through our veins. We do not understand the cross of Jesus Christ, and we cannot be shaped by the cross, unless we understand how the cross reconciles us to God.

As Christians, we are appointed as ambassadors of reconciliation. We are commissioned to speak on behalf of our King and declare his message with clarity and boldness. Each one of us has been appointed to represent King Jesus and share His news with the world around us.

As ambassadors, we’ve been given the ministry of reconciliation. This is our job, our calling. We are to bring the message of Christ’s reconciliation with us everywhere we go.

Certainly your church does this each week when you gather in this embassy of heaven. You sing about Christ’s work of reconciliation, you proclaim it from the Scriptures, and you celebrate it in the Lord’s Supper. It’s this weekly reminder that helps you go out into a foreign land ready to live and serve as ambassadors. You do this throughout the week with those around you who are still estranged from God. You tell them about Jesus, and you call them to be reconciled with God.

What could be more honorable and more worthwhile than giving your life to take the message of reconciliation with God to the world’s distant outposts? If you are a Christian, the high court of heaven, under the authority of the King of Kings, has commissioned you to serve as an officially designated “Ambassador of Reconciliation.” What an honor. What a privilege. What a responsibility. What a way to spend your life.

Thank you for reading!

This plan was adapted from Every Member Matters by Josh Wredberg and Matthew Z. Capps. Click here to learn more or purchase your copy.