ambassador | the grizzle grist mill

As Easter draws near, and we get ready to celebrate with our songs, our meals and our families, I wonder if we remember who Christ truly is. He is Christ the King. He is Life Everlasting. He is Savior, and He is our Risen Lord.

If we who call ourselves Christian are not living as Christ, then our words are not true. He was light to a darkened world. He was love to an angry crowd. He was truth to the hypocrite, the sinner and the lost. He was a healing balm to the broken and the bruised. He gave up His life for those who hated Him the most for just one to see His forgiveness and love while on the cross.

Does the world see Jesus in me and you? The Jesus that they see, does it make them want more or less of Him?

“…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.” 2 Corinthians 5:19-21

I have a friend who is dealing with the pain and agony of cancer that has spread across her body. Last month, I was notified of a friend who lost her 16 year old son in a house fire. Just last week, I ran across a FB post from a past church member who lost his wife tragically in a car wreck. It seems more and more I hear of friends going through a divorce, family members who are faced with illnesses and children who are lost and undone.

These stories hit close to home. I am a wife. I have a 15 year old and an 11 year old. Living is hard sometimes, and I find myself wondering why it’s so sorrowful at times. Yet, these tragedies make me realize so many around me are hurting. These moments of grief remind me that we weren’t made for this. We weren’t meant for these illnesses, these tragedies, this death. We are here but for a season…

This world is dying for peace, for healing and for love. If we will just look around us, we will see so many hurting souls right in front of us. Christ came to this earth that their stories might end differently. The story of Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection are the very thing that can bring healing to their brokenness. These details don’t somehow miraculously make all things perfect. This account doesn’t instantly change your circumstance or your plight.

Yet, when you find Jesus, and you believe in Him, He does one special thing for you. He brings you HOPE. Hope to face the storm and come out on the other side. Hope to face one more day. Hope to see the sun on the horizon. Hope to breathe again. Hope to live beyond this current life.

His story is one of HOPE, and if we know Him, we should be sharing this with everyone we meet. You never know, that person beside you might very well need it the most!