A Sense of Belonging
That's plain enough isn't it? You're no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. Ephesians 2: 22
Some things just belong together don't they? Like cake and ice cream for instance. What would a birthday celebration be without these go together favorites? One belongs with the other. That's just the way it is. There are many things that go together in life. Like husbands and wives, children and their parents, shoes and socks, the list goes on and on. These things simply belong together. One without the other doesn't make sense.
Todays' scripture speaks to the idea of belonging. Except this belonging is the most important belonging of all. Because in this case, we belong to the family of God. As believers, we are no longer wandering about trying to figure out what we believe. We are not strangers or outsiders. We have faith in Jesus and we belong as part of the family of God.
This idea of belonging has been on my mind lately. Probably because I have had some experiences recently that made me question my sense of belonging. Has that ever happened to you? You attend a function, but, somehow, you feel that you don't really belong there. It could be because of people's attitudes or their actions (or lack thereof). Whatever the reason, you just don't feel like you belong. It's not a great feeling. It's awkward and leaves one feeling like they are on the outskirts of everything that is going on in the moment. There is very much the feeling of being an outsider.
As believers, we belong to a family. And, as such, we have a sense of belonging with other believers. We may attend different houses of worship, or worship more or less formally, but we all belong to God's family. As the scripture tells us, our faith is our "home country." As we meet other believers, we are meeting our family members of the faith. There is no room for leaving others out, or causing others to feel that they "don't belong." No one need be exiled in God's family. We all belong. Thanks be to God.
"For in Him we live and move and have our being."
Acts 17:28
Blessings,
Debbie
3 comments:
This is comforting for sure, Debbie. Though I'd never thought about our Air Force "change of stations" in this way before, it surely fits. Everytime we had to move, I'd go kicking and screaming (metaphorically speaking; okay,
Sometimes literally!). Reading this makes me realize that after finally attaining a sense of belonging in a new location, I was going to have to start all over again somewhere else. And, your right! Feeling as though you don't belong somewhere is hard. One of the very first things we did with every move was to find a church home. No matter where we went, we always knew we would find a place of belonging among other Christians. And we always did. And still do.
This is such a true and comforting message! We have all been in those situations where we feel like an outsider. But once we join the family of God, we are part of something much bigger and affirming and important. No matter how many awkward situations we encounter, we belong somewhere bigger and better! We are truly blessed!
When you belong to the family of God you never feel alone and helpless!!! I feel so and I feel good :)
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