“As Christ’s Ambassadors, Let Him Make His Appeal Through Us 作為基督的使者，讓祂借著我們勸告世人“（2 Corinthians哥林多後書5:18-21）
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 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. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
這一切都是出於神，他藉著基督使我們與他自己和好，並且把這和好的職分賜給我們，就是 神在基督裡使世人與他自己和好，不再追究他們的過犯，並且把和好的道理託付了我們。因此，我們就是基督的使者，神藉著我們勸告世人。我們代替基督請求你們：跟神和好吧！神使那無罪的替我們成為有罪的，使我們在他裡面成為神的義。
This work of a new creation and our eternal destiny are works of God, not something we have to earn and achieve. It is we who are the party in the wrong and must be reconciled to God, not He to us. God demands not one bit less justice and righteousness from mankind but the demand has been satisfied through Jesus Christ. He never became a sinner but He did become sin for us out of a righteous act of love, not an act of sin. On the cross, the Father treated Him as if He were a sinner, yet all the while, sin was ‘outside’ of Him not ‘inside’ Him and it was not a part of His nature (as it is with us). It is a tremendous exchange prompted by God’s love for us that Lord Jesus took our sin but gave us His righteousness! Having reconciled us to Himself through Christ, now God expects us to take up the ministry of reconciliation and has therefore committed to us the word of reconciliation.
新人的創造和我們永恆的命定，這工乃是神的工程，而不是我們必要賺得和完成的一些東西。我們才是行差踏錯的一方，必須要與神和好，而非神必須要與我們和好。神要求人一點點公平和公義都不可少；然而，這要求已藉著耶穌基督得到了滿足。祂從未成為罪人，卻出於愛的義行，而不是犯罪的行為，的確替我們成為罪。在十字架上，天父對待祂就像對待罪人一樣；然而一直以來，罪存在於祂「外面」，而不是在祂「裡面」，也不是祂本性的一部分（而罪卻是我們的本性）。主耶穌擔當了我們的罪，卻將祂的義賜給我們，這是一項出於神對我們的愛極大的交換！既已藉著基督使我們與神和好，現在祂期望我們肩負起這和好的職分，並把這和好的道理已託付了我們。
Prayer: Merciful Father, many of us might find hard/reluctant to comprehend all the terrors of the cross especially Lord Jesus’ physical and spiritual sufferings where He became, as it were, your enemy who was judged and forced to drink the cup of your fury so that we would not have to drink that cup from which we often deem we could escape. Thank you for reminding us that with little or no appreciation of respective costly prices for our sins and Christ’s redemption, becoming His ambassadors remains a challenging mission from which we would run away. May Christ’s love and resurrecting power as well as the counselling of the Holy Spirit empower us to take courage in being of use to you. Amen.
禱告: 慈悲憐憫的父啊，我們中間許多人或許發覺困難/不情願，去領會十字架一切的恐怖，特別是主耶穌肉身和心靈的受苦，其中祂成了好似是你的仇敵，受著審判和強制去飲你烈怒的苦杯，好使我們會不用飲那我們往往認為可以逃避的杯。感謝你提醒我們，對於我們的罪和基督的救贖各自要付上高昂的代價有些微或沒有意識來說，成為基督的使者仍然是我們會逃避的挑戰使命。願基督的愛和復活的大能，與及聖靈的輔導，使我們有力量提起勇氣，為你所用。阿們。
