Ambassador in Traffic?
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (ESV)
I believe that I have shared with you that I have to drive a little distance to work every day. I also mentioned that I do not like to drive. Although I have a safe car—my driving skills are not too bad either. My problem? I have to share the road with others…
If you have ever driven in a large city, you know that traffic can be very stressful. Certain roads I stay away from, especially the freeway.
Have you ever thought about that even our driving is reflecting who we are in Christ? As we are all striving to reflect Him in this world, think about it next time you get behind the wheel.
I have two ‘aids’ in my car. One is the radio station I am tuned into. It relaxes me to listen to Christian music and to godly ‘chatter’ in the morning. It keeps me focused.
The other aid is a cross I have dangling from my rearview mirror. Every time someone is cutting me off, I just look at the cross when I feel the anger raising. Every time a car gets in the room I leave between my car and the car in front of me, I look at the cross. I slow down to leave another gap. If someone would like to get into traffic at a stop light, I wave them in…
Many might not know who I belong to, but I do. If my defensive driving style will get me to work five minutes late, so be it. I want to be His ambassador and pleasing to my Lord; even in heavy traffic. We never know who will be watching us…
Lord of Heaven and Earth. You have sent us out into to world to be Your ambassadors. Help us to shine Your light in a darkened world. Lord, there is much selfishness around us; guide us in our actions to be more like You. In the precious name of Jesus ~ Amen.
Blessings on your Friday and as always…
I don’t spend a lot of time traveling so I don’t deal with traffic too often.
But…….since Katrina our traffic has increased horribly. Just getting out of our neighborhood can be a major test of my patience because people don’t want to let you out. So I started using the verse in the old testament that says, I will bless those who bless you. So I look into the traffic coming and I ask who is going to get blessed today. And when some nice person lets me out—I say, thank you Jesus, don’t forget to bless that person–they just blessed me.
Thanks for this reminder Iris. This is one of the most tempting conditions for me to choose darkness over light! The stuff that comes out of my mouth when driving skills seem so challenged! yikes. God’s helping me here PTL!
Iris,
Brilliant, I need a cross in my car…. I tend to have a lead foot. I think your example of looking to the cross to remind you who you belong to while driving is great. I need to get one today.
Enjoyed this so much. 🙂
Thanks for this dear Iris, really enjoyed it.
Wonderful post Iris. We have so much traffic here too, and some people simply don’t seem to know how to drive at all!!! The cross is a great idea. I think I’m going to share this one with my husband (wink, wink).
Wonderful post, Iris! I carry a piece of washcloth to remind me of John 13 but I also like the idea of a cross right in front of me!
Blessings~
Driving is one area where I definitely need to work on patience. I really lose it when people cut me off or get into my defensible space on the freeway. I hate tailgaters! Great reminders for us, Iris, to slow down, take a deep breath and remember who we are. So often when we are in our cars, we think no one can see us, but the Divine always sees.
GREAT reminder iris. it’s always good to remember WHOSE we are and WHOSE life we need to reflect.
🙂
I plan to let my husband read this. (not passing the shovel) He tends to drive very defensive and I do not like it at all. I agree with you. We are representing Jesus all the time. People are watching.
I don’t know if you ever noticed or not, but it seems some that have the religious bumper stickers, fish, etc.. are the worst for actions contrary to the message they chose to “wear” on the car.
Blessings to you!
Oh man! Now I feel bad, very bad. Cheryl sent me here, I told her my favorite names are jackleg and old bitty. But now….I’m inspired AGAIN (yes I know better) to behave. Even if they don’t hear it, I know He does and He probably hates it as much as I do when someone ridicules my kids. AHHH!! Thanks for the ‘gentle’ reminder.