Living With A Mission

I have been in California for a little over two weeks now. One thing I have been told several times is that there is much diversity here. I have been able to observe this, mainly among the believers. There are many different walks of life, which is a beautiful thing because we have all been adopted into God's family.

But one thing that has been bothering me is the same thing I wrote about in the spring. If someone who didn't know Christ sat in on my roomies' and my typical conversation, he probably wouldn't know that we claim to be ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).

I have been studying Colossians 2 and 3. Take a look at Colossians 3:1-3:

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."

 Is this something that we as believers should occasionally do, or is this a daily charge? Shouldn't we always live like we are strangers to this world? The apostle Peter says that we should live like this because we have been redeemed "not with perishable things such as silver or gold...but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Peter 1:18-19). This redemption should transform the way we think, speak, and live.

To put this in other terms, there is no such thing as a part-time Christian. Followers of Jesus are full-time ambassadors of Christ to the lost and broken. We need to view other believers as brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to daily encourage each other (Hebrews 3:13) and remind each other that we're living with a mission. Jesus should permeate through our thoughts and conversations.

I am not exempt from my frustration; I am in need of God's grace in this area. Christians, let's live as the Body of Christ. Let's live with a mission.