A Faithful Ambassador

“And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors...” Joshua 9:3-4a “And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God:” Joshua 9:9a

Were the Gibeonites ambassadors? Genuinely seeking after God? NO! They did work wilily. With their rugged clothes, worn out sandals and moldy bread, they had the look! In the record of Joshua chapter nine God impressed on my heart the reality of being able to appear to be something we are not. The Gibeonites pretended to be ambassadors and clearly fooled Joshua with an unreliable message.

In the New Testament (II Corinthians 5:20) believers are called “ambassadors for Christ” and are to demonstrate a changed life. Genuinely seeking after God, being sincere and without offence till the day of Christ (Philippians 1:10). Proverbs 13:17 says, “A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health.” An unreliable messenger is damaging to the message of God’s Grace and is a disappointment to others. A reliable messenger brings health/healing and is a spiritual benefit to others. “A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.” Proverbs 14:25.

The Apostle Paul was a faithful ambassador for Christ, one to be imitated (Philippians 4:9). He obediently shared God’s salvation of grace (Acts 26:18). Years later, while in prison, Paul requested prayer for himself to speak boldly of the message of God’s grace for which cause he was “an ambassador in bonds” (Ephesians 6:18-20).

As a reliable messenger of the gospel, Paul brought spiritual health and healing wherever he went, even in prison, even today! Psalms 119:2 says “Blessed are they that keep his (God’s) testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.”

If we allow the Word of God to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, constrained to share the reliable message of the Cross, we too will be A FAITHFUL AMBASSADOR.

Robert Crane