Christ's Ambassadors

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20, 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. Based on our modern definition, we immediately assume that an ambassador is a representative who brings goodwill between countries. However, that was not the role of an ambassador in Rome during the time that Paul penned this letter. Instead, an ambassador was a representative who had been sent from an overpowering army to one that was about to be destroyed. It was a military custom that the ambassador brought the terms of surrender and, thus, peace to the army that was about to be overwhelmed. It was a final offer before utter devastation. You and I have the terms of surrender for a lost and dying world!