Whether it’s the retired star athlete hired by his former team to be a goodwill ambassador in the community, or legit diplomatic professionals who serve their country at the United Nations or in other nations, I think we know some of the very basics of being an ambassador.
The ambassador represents your organization or a country’s interest in a foreign land.
And combining Paul’s teaching today – ambassadors for reconciliation – with the famous Gospel parable, we see how foreign for reconciliation even the family can be. After reconciling the prodigal son, the father now has to deal with the older son not being reconciled, and the Gospel ends with his fate uncertain.
No matter how far or near we turn, we live in an unreconciled world. As a Christian, to a certain degree, we’re always on foreign soil. But as an ambassador, it doesn’t matter.
When we look at the prodigal son, we may say, “there’s hope for me.”
When we look at the older son, we may say, “I can relate to his resentment.”
But when we look at the father, we say, “I want to be like that.” With Christ, we always can.