A fourth-grade classmate of mine made a lasting impression on me. His goal was to be a national ambassador when he grew up. He never achieved this lofty childhood dream, but as a believer in Christ he is an ambassador in a land that is not his real home.

So am I. So is every Christian.

According to Paul, our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). Through Christ, God has made each of us into a new creation and reconciled us to Himself (2 Cor. 5:17-18). Meanwhile, we serve as Christ’s ambassadors (v.20) to a world that is perishing under a hostile ruler.

But what does it mean to be Christ’s ambassador? It means we are to urge others to be reconciled to God (vv.18-20). Our task is to lead people to the Savior so that they become citizens of the eternal kingdom we represent. Together with them we anticipate His return for us and the time when the kingdoms of this world will become the “kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ” (Rev. 11:15).

Until then, we must take our assignment seriously. It’s a great privilege to have our citizenship in heaven. It’s an equally great obligation to be an ambassador of that heavenly kingdom.