Ambassadors for Christ
“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)
An ambassador is a representative of their native country. If you’re a police officer, you’re also an ambassador: an ambassador for your department, and in a larger sense, for the job.
Think of how you first took an interest in police work: maybe from people you knew on the job, or from cop shows on TV; not that Hollywood is always accurate, but you get the idea. In other words, you got a positive image of the job, and you became interested.
Police work gets a bad name at times nowadays, but it’s an honorable profession. You know it. Decent people know it. Leaders are realizing, or they soon will, that clamping down on police with tight restrictions and heavy-handed discipline helps criminals far more than decent citizens.
As a cop, you also know to watch your conduct in public. You don’t want to be the lead story on the news. You should also watch how you act because police departments need officers, and you can help recruit people by how you act. Young people may hear bad things about police, but seeing you act professionally, even in tough situations, can affect their thinking in a positive way.
Moreover, when you have a chance on duty, talk with a teenager or young adult. Ask about their plans for the future, and what they think of the job. Discuss the negatives and positives of the job honestly. By acting professionally and reaching out to them, you present a positive image of the job, and the teenager on the playground today may be the rookie you train tomorrow.
If you’re a cop, you’re an ambassador for the job. If you’re a Christian, you’re an ambassador for Jesus, as our verse says. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
If you ask most people if they are 100% sure of heaven, they will say they are not. They may be kind, decent, and even religious, but not certain of heaven. God wants them to be certain and have the same peace of mind from the Bible that you have. They need someone to show them.
Now if you offered to show them how to be saved, they may or may not want to see more. Yet you can be sure they will watch to see how you act and talk. When you strive to please the Lord in your conduct, God can use you to touch people’s hearts for Christ and open doors to tell them about Jesus; in the same way that acting as a professional on the job can open up opportunities to talk with people about a police career.
If you have not seen in the Bible how to have your sins forgiven and have a home in heaven, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links,” then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 8/17/2022
Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822