Antagonists or Ambassadors?

In II Cor 5:18-20 Paul reminds us that God has taken care of the problem of sin for the whole world and calls us to be ambassadors of that message to our world. To be honest, I tend to focus more on the prevalence of sin in the world rather than on the message of reconciliation I am to represent.   With a 24-hour news cycle there is always something to be alarmed about. I find it easy to slip into a critical and judgmental spirit rather than the attitude of an ambassador.

Jesus lived His life in the midst of a pagan Roman Empire surrounded by many of the same vices we encounter today.  Yet He found His harshest words directed to those who had been entrusted with God's message of love and forgiveness but twisted that message to serve their own agendas.  They, in turn, attacked Him for mingling with "outsiders."

In his new book, Unchristian, David Kinnaman reports from extensive surveys the attitude of younger people toward the present Christian community.  The results are humbling, as many of them perceive Christians as judgmental and unloving.  As they observe the older generations they are turning away from the harsh rhetoric of recent years searching for the compassionate Christ of the Scriptures. 

As Christ followers, and as His ambassadors, how might our lives, actions and attitudes be different if we recognized that we are indeed in an alien land called to reflect the character of our King? To whom am I being called as an ambassador this week? What difference might it make in my relationships with those I tend to criticize?