Every college sports program puts the faces of its leading athletes on game-day programs, advertising pieces and recruitment folders. They are shouting, “These athletes represent who we are, what we stand for and what we produce.”

When we begin a relationship with Christ, He is pleased to let the world know that we represent Him. He is saying, “This is an example of My grace, this is who I am transforming and this one is Mine.

We are His billboard, His megaphone, His mouthpiece.

Representing God is a recurring theme throughout the Scriptures. He calls us His ambassadors. It is part of our identity as Christ-followers.

We are His image-bearers for the world to see what God does in lives yielded to Him. We are His message-bearers to tell others how they can know Him.

In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus told His followers that we are salt and light. Salt arrests decay in a corrupt world. We are effective as salt by living holy lives.

Salt has to do with our lifestyle; light has to do with His message. Light illumines the truth in a dark world.

The light referred to in this passage is reflected light, just as light from the moon is not its own, but a light reflected from the sun.

In a sense, God shines through us, bringing light to men and women to see who Christ is in us. This is who we are. Jesus would say, “Don’t hide it. Hold it high on a hill for all to see!”

Being ambassadors is not our choice. What kind of ambassadors we are is our choice. The more that Christ is allowed to transform us into His likeness, the clearer the message that we send to the world.