Which tense to we use? When we refer to ourselves as being baptized, are we speaking in the past tense or the present tense? If we speak in the past tense, then our baptism into Christ is something that happened long ago, a piece of history that may or may not impact our lives at present. If we speak in the present tense, then our baptism into Christ is a current reality, something that not only impacts our daily lives, but drives our values, decision making and behavior. As baptized children of God, washed of our sins and heirs of eternal life, we live every day as the official ambassadors of Jesus Christ in our world. Yes, present tense.
Living Baptism
But what does that look like? It’s easy to say we are baptized ambassadors of Jesus Christ in our world, but that’s pretty lofty. Ok, let’s try to bring this back to earth. Ambassadors are commissioned by their leader to represent them in a foreign land. The ambassador builds relationships with others in the foreign land so that the ambassador can clearly represent the will of the leader. So, I guess it begins with building relationships with those who are “foreign.” Well, we belong to the Kingdom of God, and people who don’t believe are foreign to the Kingdom of God. We build relationships with unbelievers so that we can represent the will of our leader, God, through what we say and do.
Sharing Stories
This is really where the rubber meets the road when it comes to living baptism. Yes, we build relationships with people so we can share the story of Jesus. But before we can really share the story of Jesus, we need to get to know these people! How do people become acquainted with one another? We share stories. You share your story, then I share my story. Repeat as necessary. This is how relationships are formed and built! We share stories! Just get to know people! Really listen to their stories and they’ll really listen to your stories. If you care about their stories, they’ll likely care about your stories. And as an ambassador of Jesus Christ, your story is closely intertwined with His story. So much so, that the only way for someone to really get to know you is by also getting to know Him.
More Sharing Stories
The most amazing conversations happen when the story of Jesus is integrated into the telling of our stories. Maybe it’s because we’re not forcing it. This is who we are. We’re not hiding anything. Well, we need to make sure we’re not hiding these conversations from our brothers and sisters in Christ! We’re all out there doing this baptized ambassador work! We all have stories to tell about how we represent Jesus to this world! Great things happen when we share these stories with one another. We don’t feel alone in the world as followers of Jesus. We know other people struggle to have these conversations and we hear how God blesses those discussions. We even hear about people who have joined us as baptized ambassadors of Jesus through someone’s Waterlife! So I encourage you to live out your Waterlife every day. Live your baptism. Share your stories. Follow Jesus.
Blessings,
Pastor Seabaugh