The children were the first thing I noticed as I surveyed my new venue. I was haunted by the look of fear and uncertainty that their eyes conveyed. It was December of 2016, and this was my first deployment as a security contractor for the State Department. The war against ISIS was in full swing, as hastily mobilized militia forces and the Iraqi Army moved to push the jihadis out of the country. Annex One was across the street from the Chancery (embassy proper) and was used to screen Iraqi citizens who wanted to immigrate to the United States. I met with the director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) branch — a United Nations organization operating under the auspices of the American ambassador — who was a very slight Egyptian lady with whom I became close in my three-and-a-half-month deployment. She told me that only about 8% of the applicants would ever obtain approval to immigrate to the States. The words on the Statue of Liberty sprang into my mind: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

The years have passed, and as I reflect on that assignment, I realize that there is a similar battle taking place in America today. Here the battle, though no less real, is in the spiritual realm, not the physical realm. As Christians, we have been given a formidable responsibility. Paul tells us that “we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (II Corinthians 5:20, ESV). Just as the American ambassador in Baghdad represented our interests in that country, he was also, in a sense, responsible for bringing approved individuals and families to live in our nation. You and I have the same responsibility regarding our representation of King Jesus to a world that is oppressed by Satan and his demons.

The biggest difference between what we do as Christians and what the embassy does is that we invite anyone who wants to come. No background check, no security concerns, no financial obligation! Just an invitation to come. The Iraqi citizens I met knew that America offered them a way of life that they could only dream about. They didn’t need travel brochures to convince them of that. Which makes me wonder about how poor of a job we as Christians are doing attracting people to enter the Kingdom.

Our travel brochure is the Bible, God’s Word, which describes the incredible riches of God’s grace and mercy, as well as the future blessings of eternal life in His Kingdom. The problem isn’t in the travel brochure — it’s in the ineffectiveness of the travel agents (hint: that’s us). What is it about Christians that makes the call of salvation so unappealing? I think this passage from Matthew’s Gospel gives us a compelling insight. “When He [Jesus] saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’” (Matthew 9:36-38, ESV, emphasis mine).

A good travel agent believes in the product he is selling. Too often I fall short in my presentation of the majesty and mystery of the Kingdom of God. I recently saw a Facebook meme of football fans sitting in an open-air stadium, most of them covered with several inches of snow. That’s a devoted fan! For far too long the Church in America has been arrogant and condescending to lost people. Consequently, what we have to offer is not attractive to them. It’s time that we took our ambassadorship duties seriously. If I genuinely believe in all that I am promised in Christ Jesus, then I should be pursuing the scattered sheep with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength! What say ye, Man of Valor?