Warm hellos friends, brethren, co-workers, spiritual family, and scattered children of God, from back here on the Gulf Coast. We had a very successful visit to the Pacific Northwest specifically in the Seattle/Tacoma area in Washington. My wife and I pray and hope this finds you all doing well, and that again your week has been blessed.
I often reflect on many of the responsibilities my wife and I have had over the years in our service to His children. As CGM plans for the Feast of Tabernacles in Orange Beach, I can’t help but reflect back that for multiple years, my wife and I would again get on a plane and head to Colombia for a pastoral visit to Cúcuta, Medellín, or Bogotá for the Day of Atonement, and then on to Cartagena for the Feast of Tabernacles.
Each time we leave the U.S. or travel within the following still weighs heavily on my mind.
An ambassador to the Court of St. James in London is the most prestigious diplomatic post in the U.S. Consular Corps. The diplomat who occupies this position must be a very tactful person. He must represent those he serves well.
In the world we live today, national interests always at stake; nations seldom allow tactless representatives to represent them for long. When diplomatic “slip ups” have occurred, ambassadors have been recalled, and replaced and sometimes terminated.
Some have been removed, and their name is now a disgrace within political and public circles because of their behavior. A poor diplomat makes a poor impression for his or her country.
How about you? How about me? Have you ever pondered your responsibility as an ambassador?
You are an ambassador you know. In II Corinthians 5:20 Paul clearly explains, that “Now then you and I are Ambassadors for Christ…” We are ambassadors with a message, the message of the soon coming Kingdom of God!
On the visits my wife and I make, it often occurs to me that not only do I carry a heavy responsibility to properly represent the Church of God, but even more importantly the King of the Kingdom you and I are citizens of, Jesus Christ.
As ambassadors of Jesus Christ, how well do you and I represent the government of God?
Are we always careful to represent that government, yes, our government, and the way of life it stands for in the most tactful manner possible?
A successful diplomat understands people, and does his very best to get along with them. Tact is a required lubricant in working and serving people.
Its origin in Latin, tactus means “touch”. It is a skill we must learn in our “touching of other people” we come in contact with. It is especially valuable in stressful or difficult situations. How do we touch their lives in their walk with Him?
Tact is every day, real life living diplomacy. Some seem to be born with it, others seem to struggle and never obtain it fully.
As we enter this Sabbath…take a few moments, to stop, ponder, muse, meditate, pray and ask God, “am I truly being and doing what God would have me be and do by fulfilling my service as an ambassador of Jesus Christ? Is my speech and representation tactful, as to those whose lives I touch so they might see the King and government I serve?”
Arms up friends! Our prayers and thoughts are with you daily. Please do pray for us as well.
