Do you ever read a particular verse that stops you in your tracks every single time?

2 Corinthians 5:20 does that to me.  

Read it with me:

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God.’” — 2 Corinthians 5:20 (CSB)

God is making His appeal through US. 

That honestly blows my mind.

If I were God, I probably wouldn’t have picked people like me for that assignment. 

I forget important things all the time. I say dumb things. I get distracted. I start projects I don’t finish. 

Yet somehow, God looked at redeemed sinners and decided, “Those are the people I’m going to use to carry my message to the world.”

>Insert every tear I have here.<

That’s humbling.

And if we’re being honest, it’s a little terrifying too.

Paul says we are ambassadors for Christ.

An ambassador is an official representative sent by one nation to another. They don’t speak for themselves. They don’t create their own policies. They represent the interests, values, and message of the king or government that sent them.

That’s our role.

Which makes sense because Scripture is clear that this world isn’t our home. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). We are citizens of Christ’s Kingdom temporarily living in foreign territory.

We’re not tourists, y’all. We’re representatives.

That’s a bigger responsibility than I remember most days, especially in the chaos of everyday life.

The entire context of 2 Corinthians 5 is reconciliation.

Paul says God “has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18 CSB) and entrusted “the message of reconciliation to us” (2 Corinthians 5:19 CSB).

Think about that.

God could have chosen a thousand different methods to spread the gospel. Seriously. We are talking about the Ancient of Days, here. The One for whom there are zero limitations. 

Instead, He chose His people.

You.

Me.

The guy who accidentally replied-all to the entire staff email.

The mom changing her millionth poopy diaper.

The college student trying to follow Jesus in a culture that thinks Christianity is ridiculous.

The retiree faithfully praying every morning.

The woman walking through the deepest valley of her life, wondering how she’s even going to put one foot in front of another.

God entrusted His message to ordinary people.

And notice what kind of message it is! 

It’s not a message of self-improvement, or “try harder!”, or “clean yourself up!”

It’s an invitation:

Be reconciled to God.

The God we rebelled against is extending peace through His Son…and somehow, we get to be the messengers.

That’s the part that settles heavily on my heart.

When I think about being an ambassador for Christ, my mind immediately goes to all the times I’ve represented Him poorly. Maybe yours does too.

I think about the impatient response, the missed opportunity, or the moment I stayed silent when I should have spoken. 

I consider the many moments when my life communicated something entirely different than my beliefs. 

Sigh.

Yet Paul doesn’t describe this ministry casually. He says, “We plead on Christ’s behalf.”

Plead! 

That’s strong language.

But it makes complete sense because eternity is at stake. 

People aren’t simply choosing between different philosophies. They’re choosing whether they will be reconciled to the God who made them.

WHEW! 

That should create a sense of urgency in us.

Not panic, or even guilt-driven striving.

But a genuine awareness that the people around us matter. Our neighbors matter. Our coworkers matter. The parents standing next to us at our kids’ games matter.

Every person we meet is someone Christ died to save.

But here’s the amazing part, y’all.

The responsibility is enormous, but God never asks us to carry it alone.

Every ambassador sent by an earthly king eventually reaches the limits of his own strength. So do we. 

The difference is that Christ didn’t simply send us with a message and wish us luck. He gave us His Spirit to empower us, guide us, and accomplish through us what we could never accomplish on our own.

Can I get a hallelujah, amen, thank you, Jesus!

One of the major themes running through 2 Corinthians is weakness. Paul talks about suffering, hardship, persecution, and limitations. He is constantly reminding the Corinthians that his effectiveness isn’t coming from his own ability!!

In fact, he says: “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5, CSB).

I love that verse!

Because if being Christ’s ambassador depended on my personality, my wisdom, or my ability to say exactly the right thing at exactly the right moment, I’d be in trouble. 

Or, as my kids like to say, “You’d be cooked.”

And indeed I would. 

Thankfully, God never asked me to save anyone! 

And He never asked you to save anyone either.

That’s His job.

Our job is faithfulness. 

His job is transformation.

Paul says we are simply jars of clay carrying heavenly treasure so that the surpassing power would be seen as God’s and not ours (2 Corinthians 4:7).

That’s really, really good news because most of us feel more like cracked clay pots than anyone worth commending.

And that’s exactly the kind of people God loves to use.

The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts hearts.

The Holy Spirit is the one who opens blind eyes.

The Holy Spirit is the one who brings dead sinners to life.

We simply show up, obey, speak the truth, love people well, and trust Him to do what only He can do.

What a holy privilege, y’all.

And what a mercy that the success of the mission doesn’t ultimately rest on our shoulders.

So this week, let’s remember who we are: We’re ambassadors. And our King has given us a message. 

May we represent Him well.

Til Next Time,

Liz

P.S. Want to memorize this verse with me (“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” 2 Cor 5:20) in less than 5 minutes?Head to the podcast:  https://open.spotify.com/episode/4q3iCvuldFt8PBQ2eultrt?si=JL9tpqGLTdqD3Mj01g9pJg

P.S.S. If you want to connect with me more regularly beyond our monthly newsletters, come find me on social media!  I post most regularly on Instagram, but I post more personally on Facebook. Just click here: www.facebook.com/authorlizhouse and www.instagram.com/authorlizhouse 

P.S.S.S. Boy did I save the best for last! I have a really fun surprise for you this week! I have teamed up with a whole bunch of other Christian authors and we are giving away over $600 worth of prizes for FREE this week! (Contest ends: June 7, 2026)

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