Bigger Than Me

March 13, 2023

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17 NLT

Amazon frequently stops at my house. When the pandemic took advantage of my autoimmune disease and my doctor ordered me to do no in-store shopping, I started to enjoy the convenience of online shopping, and I still order most books that way. Many of my neighbors do the same, and a big truck or van is on our street several times a week. Even my dog Barkley recognizes them now. Amazon vehicles are currently among the most recognizable on the road.

The identity doesn’t stop with the vehicle. The driver hops out and runs toward the house in uniform jacket, pants, and hat. They have badges that tell who they are as official representatives. And yet there’s more 😊. They have standards they must meet as representatives. Amazon sends a follow-up immediately after every delivery to give an opportunity for the customers they served to report on how well things went. Why? Because they know that everything the truck and driver do does not simply represent the guy behind the wheel. It represents the Amazon corporation and reflects on everyone to some degree.

The dictionary says that a representative is someone whose actions and words are on behalf of another or others and reflect on that other person or larger group. Jesus said we are representatives of Him. The way we love or don’t love reflects on Him and everyone else who claims to be His follower. Here Paul calls on those who call themselves Christians or Jesus followers to remember that all, whatever, everything I say or do must be done with the clear understanding that I am not interacting on behalf of myself. I am now a representative of the Lord Jesus, and the way I handle myself speaks loudly for the benefit or the hurt of His mission in the world.

We aren’t like Amazon. There is no quick form for others to record and report how well we handled our responsibility as a representative of Jesus. It’s far more significant than that. Their minds and spirits keep a subconscious running record of how representatives of Jesus handle themselves on social media, their responses to the needs of others, their compassion or lack of it, their patience or lack of it—in short, what they see in one of us has an impact on their impressions of all of us. Far more importantly, though, their reception of Jesus is shaped by His representatives. It's a tall order, but Jesus chose us and appointed us to the job. He believes in us. Through His Spirit, we can represent Him well. It’s our choice.

• Jesus, I want to live so that when people see me, they see You clearly. Help me be quick to recognize my failings and make it right with the people I have hurt or neglected. May You be seen truly and accurately in me today.