Word from the Publisher

We are Christ's Ambassadors

By Michael Wambugu

I watched a discussion on CNN that featured five individuals who have served as Secretaries of State at different times in the US.

At one point, Gen. Colin Powell - he served as Secretary of State during President George W. Bush's first term - was asked by one of the moderators what a Barack Obama presidency would mean for him (Powell), given the fact that he is a Black American, and Senator Barack Obama is also a Black American, and what message he thought a Barack Obama presidency would send to the rest of the world.

Without hesitation, Gen. Powell responded, "First and foremost, I am an American." He went on to state that he has not yet made up his mind who to vote for, is still listening and gauging who between the two candidates will do a better job as president of the United States of America.

Gen. Powell's response made me think, who I am first and foremost.

Apostle Paul said, " We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though

God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God ," (1 Cor. 5: 20).

Apostle Paul's words were captured in a popular chorus in the seventies and eighties:

"Go tell the world we are Christ's ambassadors

We are Christ's ambassadors in this world."

If we truly live out our calling to be ambassadors of Christ in this world, we shall suffer no conflict of interests as we pass through this world.

In Kenya, every Christian basically has three levels of identity (maybe this does not apply to some who were born in the capital city). One is a Kenyan, and belongs to a particular ethnic group, and is Christian. So one can be Kenyan, Kamba, Christian; or Kenyan, Luhya, Christian; or Kenyan, Giriama, Christian; or Kenyan, Kalenjin, Christian - or any other ethnic group.

The order in which we perceive ourselves is of paramount importance. Paramount because it determines how we line up our choices. It also dictates our actions. Which comes first, and which comes last?

Are you Kikuyu first, then Christian, last Kenyan? Or are you Christian first, then Luo, and last, Kenyan? Or are you Kenyan, then Digo, and last, Christian? A big part of our failure to respond righteously to the issues raised by the last election and the chaos that followed - I am revisiting this matter because unless we learn from our past, we are likely to repeat same mistakes again - was caused by our failure to recognize who we are, first and foremost.

We acted first as members of our ethnic blocs. Truth and principle did not matter a lot. We have heard accounts - whether true or not, I do not know - of how believers betrayed fellow believers, even led them into traps. Our main concern was the survival of our community, or our community getting what we believed was rightfully ours. It did not matter what means was employed - all that mattered was that we get it.

And so we came up with figures, and stories to cast our community as more sinned against than it had sinned itself. It did not seem to a matter a lot to us what would happen to our country - our community was first. And we did not give thought to our faith - our community came first.

God has put us down here to represent Him. We are Christ's ambassadors, Apostle Paul says. Whatever happens, we are supposed to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel.

"Go tell the world we are Christ's ambassadors

"We are Christ's ambassadors in this world."

michael@revivalspringsmedia.org
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