need this pounded into my head...

I have been pondering this lately...  In care group, we've been going through Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands, by Paul Tripp.  I wish I could plaster this in front of my face somehow so I could remember this.  Such great truth to be continually reminded of:

What should we do to be part of God's work in the lives of others?  Paul uses the word ambassadors to define what it means to live incarnationally.   

The job of an ambassador is to represent someone or something.  Everything he does and says must intentionally represent a leader who is not physically present.  His calling is not limited to forty hours a week, to certain state events, or to times of international crisis.  He is always the king's representative.  He stands in the place of the king (or the government of his country) wherever he is, whatever he is doing.  His relationships are not primarily driven by his own happiness.  He decides to go places and do things because they will help him to faithfully represent the king.  Thus the work of an ambassador is incarnational.  His actions, character, and words embody the king who is not present. 

Paul says that God has called us all to function as his ambassadors.  Our lives do not belong to us for our own fulfillment.  The primary issue is, "How can I best represent the King in this place, with this particular person?"  This is not a part-time calling; it is a lifestyle.  When an ambassador assumes his responsibilities, his life ceases to be his own.  Everything he says and does has import because of the king he represents.  Anything less is an affront to the king and a denial of the ambassadorial calling. 

What is God calling you to in your marriage?  To be an ambassador.  What is God calling you to as a parent?  To be an ambassador.  What is God calling you to regarding your friends and neighbors?  To be an ambassador.  What is God calling you to at work and in leisure?  To be an ambassador.  We represent God's purposes to the people he places in our lives.  This is much broader than a commitment to formal ministry occupying a portion of our schedule.  It acknowledges that our lives belong to the King.   

But this is where we get ourselves into trouble.  We don't really want to live as ambassadors.  We would rather live as mini-kings.  We know what we like and the people we want to be with.  We know the kind of house we'd like to own and the car we want to drive.  Without even recognizing it, we quickly fall into a "my desire, my will, and my way" lifestyle, where the things we say and do are driven by the cravings of our own hearts.  If we were honest, we would have to confess that the central prayer of our hearts is "my kingdom come" (p. 104-105). 

Why are we so good at turning moments of ministry into moments of anger?  Why are we so adept at personalizing what is not personal?  Why does it seem that people, things, and situations are in our way?  Why do we seldom go through a day without some experience of conflict?  The answer to all of these questions is that we think of our lives as our own, and we are more committed to the purposes of our own kingdom than we are to God's.  We need to recognize that the people in our way have been sent to us by a wise and sovereign King.  He never gets a wrong address and always chooses just the right moment to expose our hearts and realign them to his (p. 106-107).

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

~ Galatians 2:20 ~