As Christians, we are called to put our faith into action and reach out to weary and troubled hearts, the disadvantaged, downtrodden, and needy. Jesus came to serve, and we are called to do likewise. Serving those in need is a beautiful way to express our faith. The underprivileged, the needy, and the hungry need to know they are loved and cared about, that they are valued. God values them, and as Christians, we do as well.
Serving in orphanages, visiting the sick, ministering to prisoners, digging wells, teaching the underprivileged, participating in medical camps, advocating for the oppressed, and so much more, are valuable ways to make the world a better place and to bring the Spirit of Jesus into the lives of those in need.
Saint Augustine once said: “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”
Living our faith and following in Jesus’ footsteps means putting faith into action and caring for others in every possible way, and doing so as unto the Lord. We reach out to those who may be impoverished, afflicted, and in need of God’s healing balm and hope for the future. We search out those who may be healthy and wealthy, but who are weary, troubled, and lost. We are moved by the plights of those who are persecuted, ostracized from society, or marginalized.
No matter what the circumstances, we try to discern how to best be an example of God’s love. It is part of being the light of the world and the salt of the earth as we shine God’s light of love and truth upon those in need and demonstrate God’s love in action (Matthew 5:14–16). We strive to become like Jesus, having His heart for people, and being moved to do what we can to improve their lives, both spiritually and practically. We walk as Jesus walked. We follow the Master.
What we do for others—our service, our prayers, our giving—we do for Jesus. We don’t do it for recognition, for monetary gain, or to advance in society. We do all that we do, in any ministry or giving of our time, to glorify the Lord.
As 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” We are representatives of Christ. We are citizens of heaven, and we represent the kingdom of God. We’re on temporary assignment on earth to represent our country, our king. It’s a great honor to be an ambassador, and we have a responsibility to conduct ourselves accordingly.
We represent the Prince of Peace and we are tasked with giving His message to the world. And what is that message? The second half of the verse clearly presents the message that we are to give: “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
There are millions, even billions, of people who do not know God personally, who have never heard of Jesus and who have no knowledge of the gift of salvation and the treasure of eternal life that awaits them at their acceptance of Jesus as their Savior. Our privilege is to share that good news, to introduce people to Jesus, and ultimately, to bring as many people as possible to heaven with us.
May we each be an active and worthy ambassador of Christ. We represent the most spectacular realm in the whole universe—the kingdom of God. It is truly a privilege to serve as one of God’s ambassadors, and we can and should convey Jesus’ love, care, and compassion in everything we do, whether small or great. By “taking the form of a servant,” Jesus set the greatest example of service this world will ever see (Philippians 2:7).
Our love for Jesus moves us to serve others on His behalf. It motivates us to be His ambassadors in whatever situation we find ourselves. It compels us to assist those in need, and to provide hope and healing to those with broken hearts.
We can be His hands to help and touch, His mouth to speak the truth and give encouragement and hope, His eyes to convey compassion, His feet to walk alongside a weary soul, and His arms to help carry their heavy burden. We do this for Him, as unto Him, because we are trying to do what He would do if He were here. We have the recorded example of Jesus’ life on earth that shows us how much He loved us. We know from the Bible how compassionately He interacted with people in His day.
Jesus has entrusted us with the responsibility of passing on His personal, unconditional, all-encompassing love to our fellow man and fellow woman, to those who share the planet with us today. Let’s be like Jesus. Let’s love like Jesus. Let’s open our hearts to others on Jesus’ behalf. Let’s be clear conduits for God to heal and save this needy and broken world.