Have you ever been called as a witness during a trial? Jury duty is a required task for citizens of the U.S., but many of us will never have the experience of sitting in the witness chair. I have never served as a witness in a trial, but I have served on a jury. I listened to witnesses detail facts and describe circumstances. They were charged to testify to truth, what really happened in the case under scrutiny. They took an oath to “tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” The whole truth. Nothing but the truth.

Called to testify to THE Truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) :As believers in Jesus Christ we are called on to testify to the truth, the whole truth. Nothing but THE Truth. Why is it that we so often struggle to testify with our words and actions. We know that we are not our own, we are bought with a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19) Yet so often we behave in our own interest, protecting ourselves, our reputations. When it comes to the gospel, we don’t tell the whole truth. We may tell a partial truth. Our lives are often a poor reflection of the Truth we are called to represent. You’ve been there and so have I. I am short with a clerk at the grocery store. I snap at a family member. I dont help someone who needs it when I am right there and have the ability. I am silent in a conversation that needs godly input. I fall short at times when I should shine. I want to testify to truth, but I don’t.

You and I are called to be ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). An ambassador has a temporary home in a land that is not their own. An ambassador is commissioned to represent his country, not himself. An ambassador is the personal representative of the sovereign or head of state. She has the power to act with the full authority of her government and to do business on behalf of her nation. An ambassodor stands in the place of the one by whom she was sent. That’s our monumental task: To stand in the place of our Sovreign and do business for Him while we are in this land that is not our home. We have been given the “ministry of reconciliation.” God wants to use us to bring people to Himself. He wants your life and mine to speak for Him. As ambassadors for Christ, whose reputation are we to build up? Whose mission are we to propel forward? Whose purposes are we to accomplish? Whose authority do we carry?

The truth is that even though I really want to represent Christ well, I fail. You know what I mean. You’ve been there, too. My character flaws get in the way of really demonstrating who Jesus is and acting on His behalf. My fear or pride color my responses to people. I end up protecting me instead of representing Him. I don’t have the courage to say what I know He would want me to say. Sound familiar? What I want most is to represent Him well. I want to carry out my “ministry of reconciliation.” How can I hope to succeed? I don’t seem to posess the ability. Yet, I am not my own.

I am not my own and because of that I have been given something that is not my own so that I can fulfill my mission as an ambassador.I have been given power to be a witness, a representative, to testify. I have been given the essence of the One I represent to live within me, so that when I let Him live through me I demonstrate what He is like. I am able to live the Truth. I am empowered to live the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth. When I let Him, the Spirit of Christ Himself, lead the way then I become the representative that I need to be.

Power to represent Christ can look like bold declarations and powerful demonstrations, but it also looks like loving persuasion and faithful service. Ultimately, the power to represent Christ well is the power to live unselfishly with Christ-like character. In order to live that way, you and I need the Holy Spirit to live through us.

The early believers fully understood this.What power did they receive? Power to to preach boldly (Acts 2), to do signs and wonders (Acts 3),  to be a martyr (Acts 7), to release the Holy Spirit (Acts 8), to lead people to belief (Acts 10) , to overcome personal sin (1 Corinthians 10:13), to endure suffering (1 Peter 4:12-14), to heal (Acts 19:11-12), to love (1 John 4:16), to pray (Romans 8: 26), to hope (Romans. 15:13), to guard the precious truth (2 Timothy 1:14). Those first century followers of Christ understood both their mission as ambassadors and their need for the empowering of the Holy Spirit in order to accomplish it. Perhaps part of the reason we fail is because we do not fully understand either.. 

You and I have access to the same power that the early believers experienced and learned to live by.The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. (Ephesians 1:19-20). We can’t be effective ambassadors in our own power, but we have been given all that we need so that we can accomplish our mission, to testify to THE Truth. Can I get a witness?

Key thought: The power to represent Christ well comes from the Holy Spirit.

A Scripture to consider: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A YES challenge: How well does your life give witness to the Truth of the gospel? Take some time to be honest with God about where you fall short and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with His power in those areas.

Prayer: Lord, Jesus, my greatest desire is to live for You, to represent You well, to testify to the tuth, Your truth. I so often fail to do this well and sometimes I forget that that is may main purpose for life on earth. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit on a daily basis so that I can be the ambassador that You want me to be. I love You, Lord. Amen.