Friday, September 16, 2011

Putting on the Right Sweatshirt
By Lexi Cole 

“We are therefore ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”  
2 Corinthians 5:20 

I’m a tour guide at my school, and every fall there’s a night where the Admissions office feeds us lots of food, gives us free stuff, and trains us. One part of the training that I find hilarious is when our dress code requires us to “not wear clothing from other schools or universities. If you are going to be promoting a school to our visiting families, please promote Bethel while working.” It makes all us tour guides laugh every time, because we can’t imagine giving a tour to a family - - telling them about the strong academics and Christian community - - while broadcasting another college with our clothing! That wouldn’t exactly suggest that we want them to come to Bethel University!  

It makes me wonder: What am I broadcasting, in life, when I’m talking to others? People around me know I am a follower of Christ, but is that what is shown in my actions? Just as there would be a “disconnect” if I were to tell admissions guests about how great Bethel is while wearing a University of Minnesota sweatshirt, am I living a life that is in tune with the Holy Spirit and God’s best? Or am I saying I’m a Christian, but wearing a “sweatshirt” that has Selfishness, Pride, or Control on it through how I act? 

I’ve often thought 2 Corinthians 5:20 applied to my own individual relationship with God. But Paul is speaking to the whole Church here.[1]  This verse says “we” and “us,” not “I” or “me.” We, as believers in Christ, come together to represent Him. We come together to stand for His Name each and every day  - - we stand together wearing the same “sweatshirt.”  

We, with the Holy Spirit who lives in us, demonstrate the physical presence of an unseen God. Scripture doesn’t tell us what God looks like, but rather who He is. Along with His Word, we are the tangible representation of God’s love to a suffering world. We are ambassadors for what Christ did on the Cross.  

I love that I get to wear my Bethel sweatshirt when I work in the Admissions office; that I get to be an ambassador for Christ first of all, and second, the university I love. Similarly, we need to ask ourselves each morning when we wake up, and continually through the day: Is what I’m saying about my faith the same as what I broadcast through my actions?  

Let’s not just talk about Jesus. Let’s put on “sweatshirts” that represent Him, and live changed lives! 

GOING DEEPER:
1. Reflect on this past week. Have you been representing something else through your actions? What do you need to do today to change that? 

FURTHER READING:
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:13 

Lexi is a senior Elementary Education major at Bethel University.

[1] See 2 Corinthians 1:1, Paul tells us who he is addressing his letter to: the whole church in Corinth.
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