Agents of Change
We have seen in the early chapters of Acts how the first Christian
believers established a different kind of community, caring for those in
need among them, and together reaching out to those outside the com-
munity, offering them help where needed and inviting them to join in
with what God was doing among them.
Adding to Jesus’ descriptions of salt and light, Paul uses a number
of metaphors to portray the church’s action in the world. Among
others, he describes those who live as God’s people as a sacrifice
(see Rom. 12:1), as Christ’s body (see 1 Cor. 12:12–20), as ambas-
sadors (see 2 Cor. 5:18–20), and as perfume (see 2 Cor. 2:14–16).
Each of these images talks about a role as representatives or agents
of God’s kingdom even now, even amid a world ravaged by the great
controversy.
Review each of these “representative” descriptions above. Which
best describes how you would like to represent God and His ways
in your community, and why?
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Each of these images has action associated with them, not as a means
of being acceptable to God but as people already accepted by God
through Christ’s sacrifice, who have responded to God’s love and grace
by being His agents in a hurt and dying world.
But they also can be considered on a still deeper level: because God’s
love and grace is what the kingdom of God is about, when we act in
such a way, reflecting to others in love and grace, we enact and partici-
pate in that eternal kingdom, even now.
In international law, a national embassy is considered part of the nation
it represents, even when physically located in a foreign country, perhaps a
long distance from the home nation. In a similar way, enacting the ways
of God’s kingdom offers glimpses of that eternal reality here and now
and, as such, points to and is a foretaste of the final defeat of evil. And
by so doing—as Christ’s ambassadors, as Christ’s agents—we can expe-
rience the reality of His love and justice in our own lives, in the church,
and in the lives of those we seek to serve.
Read 2 Corinthians 2:16. What is the difference between the two
aromas, and how can we know which one we are?
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