Be Jesus’s Representatives

Twenty years ago a young woman from Vietnam asked me a question that I shared more fully in- I Hear You Help People, Will You Help Me? She asked other students about me because I greeted her in her language. She wanted help to prepare to go to college which was monumental in her mind because no one in her family had ever gone to college.

That encounter is a constant reminder for me that people know us either by how we treat them or how others talk about us with them. My desire is that any refugee or immigrant in my city would feel they could approach me to ask for help.

That encounter also serves as a reminder that we are the hands of Jesus in this life. We are his representatives in this life. Our reputation reflects not only on us but also on Jesus in the eyes of those around us.

That thought alone makes me want to seek Jesus in prayer because there is no way I can be a positive representative of Jesus on my own. It is a simple prayer, but one I pray almost daily, of-“please help me to be a blessing to….” During the school year I pray for help to be a blessing to my students and colleagues. During summer break it is my prayer as I meet with people.

2 Corinthians 5:20 says:

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.

In these troubled times we live in, so many people need us to live like Christ’s ambassadors. They need a safe landing place of friendship. They need those who follow Jesus to be a blessing because we have been blessed.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.