Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20

The passage above describes the essence of the love that compels us to take action on behalf of others. In four short verses, Paul repeats the term “reconcile” five times. 

• First, we are new creations in Christ. The old nastiness is gone and Christ gives us a fresh start. 
• God is the source of reconciliation. He took the initiative.  He took the first step through the work of His Son.
• He has entrusted us with the message of reconciliation so that the appeal to salvation is made by God through us.

God could have chosen any number of ways to communicate His message of reconciliation, but he chose you and me and every other follower of Christ. We are His ambassadors.

Over the next few days, many of us will have an opportunity to serve as ambassadors for Christ. Let’s first recognize and then make the most of those circumstances.