A Sending God & His Sent People

2 Corinthians 5:11-21

If God is a sending God, we must be a sent people. If God is a reconciling God, we are to be agents of reconciliation. To know God is to be with Him; in being with Him, we will become like Him.

As 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, we are a new creation if we are in Christ. Part of our new identity is to be a sent - a minister of reconciliation and an ambassador of Christ.

Notice how Paul does not tell his audience to do anything. He does not tell them to share the gospel make a friend, or “do” mission. Rather, he reminds them of what Christ has done - “reconciled us to Himself” (1 Cor 5:18). Then he reminds them of what their identity is - an ambassador of Christ.

If we are in Christ, and if we are a new creation, we are a missionary. In every moment, we represent Christ to the world around us. We don’t get to opt in or opt out of a missionary identity. If we are truly compelled by Christ’s love, we must extend it to others by sharing the message that “... one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (1 Cor 5:14-15)

As Jesus says in John 20:21, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

If we are a new creation with the identity of ambassador, let us live as ambassadors. An ambassador is someone who represents their country in a foreign land. So we represent our true kingdom - the Kingdom of God - on Earth.

If we are sent by Jesus, let us live sent to the people around us.

We know that there are people who need to hear the message of reconciliation. Deep down, they want to be reconciled to God, but they might not know it yet. There is a deep need for Christians to live into their identity as ambassadors.

Let us remember what compels us to meet this need. It is the love of Christ and the work of Christ that must compel us to mission.

If you are “doing” mission because it’s a checkbox item or because someone told you to or because you feel guilty, you do not have the heart posture of an ambassador. Allow yourself to soak in the Gospel message and the love of Christ - this is what must compel us to mission.

Before you move on to the next part of your day, take a moment to do the following:

• Journal or speak the gospel message to yourself

• Meditate on God’s love for you

• Thank God for the ways he has made you a “new creation”

• Ask the Holy Spirit, who in your life needs to hear the message of reconciliation today