The Salad Ambassadors
By Andy Allan
Did you know you could put Oreos in a salad?
Up until marriage, every salad I’d encountered contained greenery of some sort, prioritizing health and minimizing taste. That is, until the first holiday at my in-laws, where I met a salad seemingly designed by Willy Wonka: Oreo creme “salad.”
In my wife’s family, salad had a wide definition: anything that fit on the small plate next to your big plate (Jello and whipped cream included!).
I think we learn to love like we learn to define “salad,” by watching the people around us love and experiencing being loved. It took years of marital conflict to finally understand my wife saw love differently than I did. And (shocker) I don’t always love her the way God loves.
When Paul declared, “We are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20), I usually interpret that as representing Jesus' love to people who haven’t yet met Him. But that’s not the whole picture.
I’m His ambassador to everyone.
I have the responsibility and privilege to show my wife a glimpse of God’s love so that she falls more in love with Jesus (and, hopefully, me too). When I let impatience creep in or angrily accost her “Because I love you!” I’m being an ambassador for broken old me, not for Christ.
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends,” Jesus declared (John 15:13).
Am I laying down my life for my wife, putting her above every other want? Heck, am I willing to lay down my phone for five minutes to focus on her? Sacrificial love lies at the heart of being Christ’s ambassador, especially to my wife.
I know I won’t be perfect. Thankfully, God doesn’t fire us when we fail. I still get to be an ambassador as I confess to my wife, “I’m sorry sweetheart. I’m not loving you the way Jesus does.”
Growing over time, I can expand my ability to love her like Jesus does … as wide as her family’s salads.
The Good Stuff: 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 5:20-21)
Action Points: Consider replacing one of your hobbies this week with intentional time connecting with your spouse. Ask, “Is there anything that I seem to choose over you?”
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