Do you belong?

We are created to belong! I firmly believe this truth. 

We are created to be in community and to be known and loved by others. This is also why it is important for us to remember that we are invited to be part of God's community - to belong to God's family. When Paul wrote to the church in Rome, he reminded them of this beautiful gift:

"So, you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. " - Romans 8:15-16

The author and speaker, Brené Brown, puts it in a slightly different way, but it is equally compelling: 

“A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don't function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others. We get sick.”

Question: Do you feel that you belong? Why or why not?

Living in grace

D3LM3 

Identity

Identity is such an important thing for us as people. We want to know who we are and we also want to know that we belong somewhere. When Peter writes to the early church he reminds them that there was a time when they didn't really belong, but through the mercy of God and through the love of Jesus they have been given a new identity.

“Once you had no identity as a people;
    now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;    now you have received God’s mercy." - 1 Peter 2:10

Living in the 21st century is, in some ways, no different than struggling in the 1st century - once we know we have an identity and that we 'belong' this gives us a reason to live. It is Christ who gives us our new identity - we are children of God.

What do you think?

“When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.” -  Ralph Ellison

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Who do you belong to?

^"Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?” - Ruth 2:5

It was a sign of the times that a woman was always under the authority of her male family members, which is why Boaz asks Ruth this question in v.5 - Who do you belong to?
 
It was assumed that a woman belonged to her husband, father, uncle, brother etc. Thankfully, we have moved away from this kind of language nowadays, but I want to pick up on the spiritual connotation of this question: "Who do you belong to?"


I don't need to be attached to any human relative to answer this question, because if I have chosen to follow Jesus Christ, then I can say: "I belong to Christ!" Jesus has brought me with a price and I am under his covering.

Mark 9:41 -  "Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward."

Question:  "Who do I belong to?"

Living in Grace
D3LM3