A LASTING IMPRESSION

2 Corinthians 5:20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us….

I’m sure you must have noticed when you move a heavy piece of furniture it always seems to leave behind dents in the carpet! It leaves a lasting impression. I know because we’ve done a lot of moving of furniture around this past week!🙂

I was thinking about that and wondering what kind of impression do we leave behind when we’ve left the room, or left the shop, or work etc.? Is it good or is it bad? Do we leave people feeling happy to see us again or as one friend of mine did, he used to hide in a shop doorway when he saw a certain person coming, because he didn’t like them and didn’t even want to talk to them!

The Bible tells us we are ambassadors for Christ, we are His representatives here on this earth and our attitude as to how we treat others will also leave a lasting impression on them. The other day I told a lady in a shop she was really good at her job and her face just lit up, beaming from ear to ear. She really appreciated it and we both felt uplifted!🙂

The Holy Spirit says in Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Jesus taught us not to avenge ourselves but to love our enemies, to be patient, to show mercy and kindness which can be really hard! It’s then we have to ask the Holy Spirit to take over, to be prepared to be quiet and not say something we’ll be sorry for later. It’s like when we’re not treated well by people the Lord can help us deal with it graciously if we ask Him to.🙂

We need godly wisdom don’t we? The Holy Spirit will show us what to do if we’re willing to ask Him. It may mean saying nothing but to just let God deal with it, let Him be our vindicator, and other times to speak up and not be a doormat.

So next time we want to ‘say something’ to somebody, or be offended by them, or avoiding them like the plague, let’s try to remember we’re representing Jesus right now and it will reflect one way or the other on Him. If we can take a deep breath and allow the Holy Spirit time to give us a right attitude and maybe even smile sweetly, that would be good.🙂 I’m speaking to myself most of all!

Lord help us be good ambassadors for You and leave a good lasting impression. Amen.