18TH FEBRUARY
2 Corinthians 5:20-21
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
When you talk with people about the gospel, you aren’t inviting them to trust Christ just on your own behalf—you represent Christ himself, who is speaking to them through you!
Ambassadors don’t represent themselves, but the one who sent them. As Jesus sends you out into the world, don’t think that you have to come up with your own message—just share the simple truths of the gospel with people. Don’t think that you need to be super convincing—God will be “making his appeal through us”. Don’t let it get to you if there are some who think your beliefs are ridiculous and look down on you. You are not representing yourself—you are speaking “on behalf of Christ”.
What a relief! Even when I stumble around and don’t put my words together very well, when I walk away from a gospel conversation thinking I must have sounded like an idiot, or when I feel like I did well—in either case what matters is not how well I did. What matters is that even through my weaknesses, God was making his appeal through me.
MAKE IT PERSONAL
Stop and take a few minutes for prayer. Ask God to open a door for you to speak with someone about him today. Be ready for it! When the door opens, open your mouth and start talking with the confidence that God is speaking to that person’s heart through you.