On the night He was crucified, Jesus gathered His followers and tried to prepare them for what was coming. It was like the coach getting the team in the locker room for last-minute instructions. In the middle of that talk, as Jesus explained the importance of staying connected with Him, He told His Disciples, “This job I’m giving you is not going to be easy because the people around you are not going to like your message.”

Look at John 15:18 – “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” In other words, “Don’t be surprised when people reject you. After all, they reject Me, so if your life points to me, they will reject you, too.” Then Jesus adds these poignant thoughts: “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 5:19)

Jesus is clear: before we knew Him, we belonged to this world. We spoke like this world, and we thought like this world, but no longer. Now, our citizenship is elsewhere! So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. We have a new homeland. Jesus changed our citizenship. In Philippians 3:20, Paul says it bluntly, Our citizenship is in Heaven, and we are here as ambassadors.

An Ambassador is someone who intercedes with a foreign nation on behalf of his own nation. The two nations may speak different languages and possess different worldviews, but the Ambassador is charged with bridging those communication differences in order to keep peace and mutual understanding. In Paul’s day, the Roman Empire sent Ambassadors to imperial provinces who were in danger of rebellion. Ambassadors would bring these various ethnic groups an invitation for peace and reconciliation.

Our world is in rebellion against God, but God loves it. He sent Jesus as Savior to make a bridge between this world and the next. Jesus was an Ambassador of Heaven. And when Jesus returned to Heaven, He tasked us with continuing that Ambassadorship. In other words, He entrusted us with the message of peace and reconciliation. We are citizens of Heaven, living in a distant land, representing the values of our King. That is a heavy responsibility.

Imagine the President of the United States called you this week and offered you an Ambassadorship to a very important nation. You get a big raise, a new title, and an invitation to all the best parties. You even get a new license plate. You can speed and not get pulled over. This is a dream position!

After accepting the position, what would you do to prepare yourself to communicate the agenda of the United States? Record your answers in your journal.

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God has strategically placed you and me as His Ambassadors in this country at this point in history with all of its rapidly changing pluralistic cultures. Ours is NOT a country where everyone shares common values and beliefs. Instead, we’ve adopted a “tribal mentality”—an America divided into different groups of people who see the world in very different ways. 

We believe in Truth—that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life—that Jesus is the answer to the deepest needs of every person in every “tribe.” But sometimes we don’t communicate well. We feel threatened and lash out with unfiltered truth in unloving ways. “What’s wrong with you? Don’t you know better? Accept this or face God’s wrath!” We wonder why people don’t respond in a positive way.

Imagine that you are going as a missionary to a tribe in Papua, New Guinea. This tribe is known for polygamy, polytheism, and cannibalism. You are going to this tribe as an Ambassador sent by Heaven to let them know the Good News—sin separated us from God, but God through Jesus has established a way back to peace, fellowship, and an eternity with Him. That’s your message.

When you meet these people for the first time, what do you say? Maybe: “What’s wrong with you people! Polygamy is wrong, your gods are all phonies, and it’s wrong to eat people?!” Of course not. If you did that, they wouldn’t invite you to dinner—you would BE dinner! Missionary work in those areas requires strategy and diplomacy. 

We all get that, don’t we? We remember it across the ocean, but for some reason, we forget it across the cubicle. 

In his excellent book, Hope of Nations, John S. Dickinson lists six ways to be an ambassador in our culture:

1. ‍Go to a foreign tribe—You won’t have to travel far. Again, we live in a divided country. I guarantee many of your neighbors, relatives, and co-workers do not share your Christian values. Enter their world.
2. ‍Demonstrate God’s love through action—The best missionaries prove God’s love through actions long before they begin talking about sin, the cross, Jesus, or even creation. People are suspicious of us – so think about your message as “show and tell.” First show, then tell. 
3. ‍Build relationships—This results from Step #2, but it’s more. Jesus entered our world and ate our tables, and got to know us. Follow His lead.
4. ‍Learn the language—Missionaries have to do this in a literal way, of course. In America, this means learning the cultural assumptions about what a Christian is and who Jesus is, and what this person believes about God in general. 
5. ‍Present the Good News—As the relationship develops after this person knows that you genuinely care for him or her, pray for a moment when you can turn the conversation towards Christ.
6. ‍Work with the Responsive—Come alongside those who respond and help them take the next steps to start a relationship with Him.
   

REFLECT:

Who has God placed in your sphere of influence? What foreign tribes has God strategically placed in your life? (The people in your life are not there by accident.) God has strategically placed them in your sphere on purpose. In your journal, write out a description of the “foreign tribe” God has called YOU to. What is their worldview? What values do they hold that are counter to the Kingdom of God? What kind of loving actions could you humbly do to communicate God’s love before you use words? BE CREATIVE and brainstorm your “Ambassadorial” approach.