“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. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:20-21
God’s Ambassadors
After losing to Syracuse as a 22.5-point favorite on October 13th, Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney went to shake hands with Syracuse coach Dino Babers. During the interaction, the cameras caught Swinney saying, “I’m so happy for you” to Babers. Then, Swinney went into the Syracuse locker room to congratulate the Orange on their performance and win. Coaches pretty much always shake hands after a game and say something to each other, but Swinney went above and beyond to show respect to the team that had just beaten his.
In that situation, Swinney could have said a brief congratulations to Babers and been on his way. His team, the undefeated national champions, had just lost a game that greatly reduced their margin of air for the rest of the season if they were going to get back to the College Football Playoff. Instead, he chose to take the time to compliment his opponent and turned the attention from himself and his team to Syracuse. There was a clear message throughout the Clemson program that their comments to the media were going to be graceful and complimentary of the Orange.
As Christians, our words and actions should be reflective of the way that God calls us to treat everyone; with love and respect. We are Christ’s representatives on earth and we need to strive to be as Christlike as possible in our interactions with everyone we encounter. Even when things aren’t going well, we need to respond with grace and kindness, just like Dabo Swinney did. It’s not going to be easy, but with God’s help, we can become great ambassadors for Him, spreading His love when things are going well and when things aren’t going so well.
– Joshua Doering
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