Re-Presenting Grace

16 Remember what Christ taught, and let his words enrich your lives and make you wise; teach them to each other and sing them out in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, and come with him into the presence of God the Father to give him your thanks. (Colossians 3:16-17 TLB)

Representatives are those who stands or serves for another - their life is patterned after another and they do what the other would do if they were in that moment or place. When we say we represent the grace of God, we are indicating we are a "picture" of that grace - a living picture. I know we can represent a whole lot of things, but when we represent any aspect of Christ's character to those around us, we are representing something that enriches the lives of those we are serving.

Words can indeed represent another, but when those words are coupled with the actions that "back up" the words, the message is a clearer "picture" of the one we are representing. A representative acts within the scope of "delegated authority". As Christians, we are living examples of "delegated authority" - for by his residence within us, Christ helps our actions to be expressions of his character. There is also power in "re-speaking" his Words, for therein we find truth that sets hearts free from those things that have held them back for a very long time.

What we "represent" in our lives is often a clearer picture of what we find to be at the core of our lives. The fruit is always a result of the fruit, my friends. If we begin to "represent" anything other than Christlike behavior, we might just want to do a little "root inspecting" - or better yet, we may just want to allow the Holy Spirit permission to do that inspecting on our behalf. The things exposed may actually strengthen the root once they are dealt with and the root is allowed to have fertile ground in which to develop once again!

Another way to think of being a representative of God's grace and love is to think of it in terms of what we "re-present". Much is "presented" to us in life - but grace is something we are presented with time and time again - because we need it more than once! We become "representatives" of God's grace each time we extend it - as such, we point another toward Christ's heart and in turn, we "re-present" a chance for them to embrace just a little more of him. Just sayin!

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