In this evil upside down world we are living in today, I thought I would try and share an encouraging word. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says this concerning every believer:
"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."
What I would like you to focus on is the beginning of the statement where we are described as “ambassadors” for Christ. The following is the dictionary definition of an ambassador: (an accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country.) This is truly an apt description of our current position relative to our citizenship, which is described in the following verse. Philippians 3:20:
"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."
That being said, when an ambassador is serving in a foreign country, his main objective is to promote and advance the priorities of his home country. As you are well aware, relationships between countries can sour over time. Sometimes, those relationships get so volatile that countries will go to war. But as relations begin to get to this point, one of the first things that takes place is the ambassador is called back to his home country.
So just as a country’s ambassador gets evacuated from a country as the relationship deteriorates to the point of “no return”, the Church will also be called home: 1 Thessalonians 4:16:
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first."
But, just as a home country does not evacuate non-citizens, unbelievers will also be left to endure the time of “Jacob’s Trouble”. That being said, it is really much easier to become a citizen of Heaven than it is to become a citizen of any country here on earth. As a matter of fact Acts 16:31 says:
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved."
Then 1 John 5:13 says:
"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life."
I pray you gain some encouragement from these words!
In Christ,
Rohn