We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry.
(2 Corinthians 6:3 NLT)
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul confirmed to the Corinthians that he and his fellow laborers in the gospel were Christ's Ambassadors. He said that they were given the spectacular ministry of reconciliation to God. God was, and still is, pleading with mankind to be restored to him through Christ. God's appeal, desire, and dream-come-true can be realized through us. All we must do is agree to be his representatives on earth and make his request known to others.
Yet, when we agree to make God's appeal to others, we are seen as mouthpieces for the divine. Representatives are always viewed as a direct reflection of whatever or whomever they represent. If a company is known for its excellent service, it is because the attitude and behavior of its employees are synonymous with its brand. Employees are always the faces of a business, and often, a company will sink or swim solely based on the representation of its workers.
As the Lord’s representatives, we are the faces of his kingdom. Granted, we do not have the power to make our Father’s business sink or swim. God’s kingdom will reign with or without us. He will command rocks to cry out in our place before he allows the destruction of his kingdom. (Luke 19:40). Yet, we are the ones the world looks to as a reflection of him. Eyes are on us whether we know it or not.
What do they see when they see us? More of the world or a set-apart people? When they see us, they should see something different. Our speech, our dress, our intellect, and our attitudes should be nothing like what they are accustomed to. Paul says that they lived in such a way that no one would stumble because of them—he wanted no one to find fault in their ministry.
Regardless of what they endured, Paul wanted to show that they were faithful ministers of God at all times. Through stress, sleeplessness, beatings, hard labor, fasting, their knowledge, their kindness, the word of God, and sincere love—though all things, Paul wanted the ministry to stand pure and reflect the trueness of God. We ought to stive for the same.
It should concern us that our representation of God could poorly reflect him to those who do not know him well. For the more seasoned saint, a lousy representative of God would not turn us away from him. We would discern that bad representatives are not a great reflection of him. But for someone who does not know God, a terrible representative of him may turn them away from God just as a bad experience with a company’s representative may turn us away from a business. And how might that make God feel?
Imagine running a company with employees who drive customers away from your establishment. You may attempt to coach them and give them time to become better employees, but I don’t imagine you’d wait too long before taking some type of necessary action. If your business was on the line, I’m sure you’d make the changes needed to keep your company afloat. You’d ensure your employees are attracting consumers, not repelling them.
Likewise, God is merciful. We will not always be the best reflection of him. Therefore, as a boss coaches employees, the Holy Spirit will coach us when needed. The Spirit within us will convict us when we make our Lord appear anything other than great. And if the Lord sees our attempt to do better, he will honor our efforts. But if we are unrepentant and continuously turn people away from him with no conviction or effort to correct our wrongs, I fear the Lord will dismiss us from carrying out his business. I fear he will eventually say to his bad representatives, “Depart from me, you worker of iniquity”.
So, let us instead strive to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant”. Let us work in our Father’s business as if we were working for the promised reward of salvation and everlasting peace. The Apostle Paul wanted to ensure that he represented Christ well regardless of what he went through. Although stressful and difficult situations can bring out the worse of our emotions, most of us know how to suck it up and put our emotions behind us for the sake of keeping our jobs. So, we should also learn how to activate self-control for the sake of being awesome representatives of God.
As believers, not only do we participate in ministry, but our lives are ministry. You are a living ministry whose thoughts, actions, and deeds directly reflect your Father’s business. We must be careful of how we show up in the world. Paul also informs us that we must be careful of whom we interact with within this world.
We are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers and are commanded to be separate from those who walk in darkness. “What communion has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? What part has a believer with an unbeliever? … Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 6:15,17)
It’s only right to pair ourselves with other people who bear God’s glory correctly. If a reputable business merges with another company that is known for shady business practices, it will make you question if the reputable business is as good as you assumed. If CEOs and presidents within the secular world know to avoid merging with those who do bad business, we ought to know to avoid merging with those who are not about our Father’s good business as well. Therefore, let us be yoked to like-minded followers and doers of God’s word.
May we all be mindful that we have the power to influence others. We can cause our brother to stumble or motivate him to remain upright by how we represent our Father and his business. We are God’s representatives, and he is a holy, good God. Therefore, as the faces of his kingdom, we need to always remember that we also should reflect holiness and goodness. We should serve God well while remembering that we are more than servants in ministry. We are ministry.
May we remember this in our daily lives and represent God well both now and forever more. May this message encourage you, and may God bless and keep you.
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