Foreign Assignment by Rose McCormick Brandon

 After many years of faithful service the ambassador to a major country was fired. His offense? He became entrenched in the politics and culture of his foreign assignment and forgot who he represented. It all came to light when a dispute arose between his home country and the one he served in as ambassador. He was required to speak at a press conference on his government’s behalf, a reasonable expectation of a diplomat. He sided with his country's adversary. His career as a valued emissary ended in disgrace. 

The primary requirement of an ambassador is faithfulness (I Cor. 4:2). Forces entice us to become overly comfortable in the land of our ambassadorship, like the fallen diplomat.The world is adept at making its viewpoint appealing, pedaling it as loving and kind, everything a Christian should be. The unfaithful lean away from scripture and toward prevailing opinions (2 Tim. 4:10). Love for Christ constrains us to make a decided commitment to remain faithful ambassadors for Jesus regardless of consequences.

     Mordecai is an example of a faithful ambassador. An Israelite living in exile in a godless country, he never forgot where he came from and who he belonged to. The king Mordecai served unwisely elevated an evil man, Haman, to a high position in his cabinet and then decreed that all underlings bow down to him. To save their lives, all the king’s servants obeyed. Except one. Mordecai. Worried for his safety, Mordecai’s friends tried to persuade him to conform, but he was an Israelite, he said, and he bowed only to God, never to man. Faithfulness can be dangerous. Prideful Haman went into a rage and contrived to destroy all Jews because of his hatred for Mordecai. (This hateful spirit didn’t die with Haman.)

Mordecai called on his niece, Esther, one of the king’s wives, to take a stand in defense of her people. He warned her not to think that she would survive the coming holocaust because of her position in the palace. He reminded Esther that God had put her in a position of power “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). Without Mordecai, Esther might have forgotten who she was and where she came from.

Paul used the analogy of an ambassador to show that followers of Jesus live in the world and speak to the world on Christ’s behalf (2 Cor. 5:20).  Mordecai’s words are a guiding light to all ambassadors for Christ reminding us that we are called at this particular time in history to serve as obedient, courageous and faithful ambassadors of Christ.

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Rose McCormick Brandon writes from her home in Caledonia, Ontario. She is the author of Promises of Home - Stories of Canada's British Home Children, One Good Word Makes all the Difference and numerous articles and devotionals for Christian publications. She has two blogs: Listening to my Hair Grow and Promises of Home.