This experience gave me a new appreciation for a goal of the church. Christians are of course ambassadors (Eph 6:20; 2 Cor 5:20). But in a deeper sense, the church is our embassy. When Sunday comes and the church gathers, it is a collection of ambassadors coming home. We are not in heaven yet, but as much as we are able we strive to have church represent heaven on earth.

Last week, in order to apply for a visa, I had to visit the embassy of a nation that I’m visiting on a future missions trip. Fortunately I live in Washington, D.C., so this trip consisted of a thirty-minute drive from my house, followed by an extended search for parking. This was my first visit to a foreign nation’s embassy, so I didn’t really know what to expect.

I was surprised at how many embassies were close together. Scores and scores of them were built next to each other, side-by-side. Each was different, with their own kind of fencing, their own security, and of course their own flag. They shared parking, and they shared a zip code, but that was about all they had in common.

My destination was a particular embassy representing a country that I’d been to several times before (but never to their embassy). I buzzed at the gate, stated my business, and was then let into a security screening room. After I successfully convinced them I had a legitimate need to be there, they let me into their courtyard, and finally into the building itself.

When I opened the door, I as struck by how…how foreign the place was. The first thing I noticed was the smell. It smelled exactly like the country smelled. I don’t know if it is the food, the paint, or an air freshener, but breathing the air took me right back to the months I had spent there nearly 20 years ago. The smell brought with it memories of the house I stayed in there, the churches I’d preached in, and the people I knew there.

The second thing that grabbed my attention was the décor. The paint, the flooring, the kind of chairs, even the fliers on the wall—they were all directly from this nation. The colors—so common in that country, are certainly so foreign here. The only place in the world I’d ever seen chairs like that is in their airport. The wall had fliers on it advertising cellphone companies that don’t even exist in the US.

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