Who do I represent?

Jeffcoat Engineers & Surveyors, LLC, Montgomery, Alabama

Ambassador:  A diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and accredited as representative in residence by one government to another. 

Friday afternoon I was out running errands for my employer. I was driving the company pickup truck and started thinking about my actions in the truck such as: I really shouldn't run any traffic lights, and I really shouldn't exceed the speed limit, and I really need to signal properly.  If I did these things, it would get back to my boss.  After all, I was in the company truck, which has the company logo and phone number on it.  I mean, I couldn't kick the truck down a gear and just step on it, could I?  Not that I would...Driving the truck made me think about being a representative of where I work.  I realized I needed to present myself in a manner that would reflect well on the company. 

God used Friday's driving experience as a thinking time.  Thoughts carried over from me being a representative of the company I work for, to me being a representative, an ambassador of God and His kingdom.  Sure, I had heard and reflected on being a witness and ambassador for Christ before, but never had it really hit me like it did when I was driving that white truck.  I was better able to relate to my ambassadorship for Christ when I was actually being an "ambassador" for my company.

How many times have I said the wrong thing, done the wrong thing, not cared about the feelings of others?  When I do those things, I am reflecting poorly on my heavenly Father.  II Corinthians 5:19-21 says "that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Matthew 5:14-16 puts it very well. "You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Not only do I need to be a good representative for my employer, but I also need to be very careful that my actions do not turn others away from Christ.  What if I am the only ambassador they meet?