Regardless of your take on whether or not all Christians are "missionaries," (see my previous post to read why I say we are, in fact, all missionaries), the scriptures are clear that all of God's people have a place on His mission. So it would make sense, then, for us to stop every once in a while to reflect on whether we are doing mission well. If we are ambassadors of God's kingdom here on earth, our lives should look, well, ambassadorial. Right?

An ambassador doesn't live according to his own agenda. He lives as a messenger of the one who sent him. In some ways, that makes the ambassador a dignitary. His status as official representative gives him an importance that exceeds his own. This is why countries allow diplomatic immunity from local laws.

As Christians, we enjoy a certain amount of diplomatic immunity in this world. Because we represent the King, we're held to a different standard than everyone else. We're above the human tendency to repay evil for evil. We're no longer slaves to sin. Karma doesn't apply to us. We're free from worry, doubt, and fear.

Yet even the privileged ambassador knows he is only a stand-in. At the end of the day, our King has a limitless number of representatives. We're special, but only because he chose us. Beyond that, we're the same (or worse) than everyone else. Because we know this truth (and constantly remind one another of it), we can't think too highly of ourselves. So we humbly speak the truth in love. We're careful to differentiate between our opinions and the very word of the King who sent us. And we commit to studying His decrees, lest we dishonor our King by speaking out of turn.

We have been sent by God to be His people among the nations of the earth. We must live in such a way that when the world looks at our lives, they see examples of what life in Christ looks like. They see less of us, and more of Him who sent us. This is what it means to be on mission.