Definition of Belonging

Definition of BELONGING…Ephesians 2.19

Hello!

1: possession —usually used in plural

2: close or intimate relationship <a sense of belonging>

—   be·long·ing·ness noun

Belonging and Belonging. 

Yesterday morning, I was driving to the first of two of Danny’s soccer games, thinking more about belonging.  Since I was missing church, I was endeavoring to worship God, while singing to him, and thinking about how grateful I am for who he is in my life.  And then I realized that, even though I was totally alone in my car, I was not alone at all – I was with the one to whom I belong…and for that reason, I felt the familiar feeling of wholeness. 

Belonging matters – partly because we all want to ‘matter’ to folks … we want people with which to identify and be ourselves … especially those who know all about us and still love us! 

From God’s perspective, which often seems a vertical view, there are two aspects of belonging, and they go in order.  It is his heart and plan that we should choose to love and follow him—be in relationship with him—in which case,                                          

we are God’s belonging and also

have a place of belonging with him. Belonging and belonging.  When we have these in order, we know we belong… giving us a better understanding of Paul’s writing – we who know Christ are “No longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” Ephesians 2.19. We move from a state of not belonging to belongingness forever, for in Jesus Christ we have been chosen for eternity, accepted in time, and united for eternity.¹

And so, as I drove down the highway pondering whether or not one could experience belonging while alone, it was well with my soul, because I sensed my position of belonging to and with God.

Click to listen: http://www.99radio.com/music/Christy+Nockels/Into+The+Glorious/video?l=0²  

In my place of belonging, I experienced a wellness of heart, mind and soul with my Lord – singing along to this beautiful song, and I realized that it was just too good not to share!  “I was made for more than this world could offer me, 
my heart to hold true mystery… 
my voice was made to fall on holy ears, 
my life to collide with majesty… <Out from the ordinary into extraordinary!> 

This is a heart-cry from my life 
to say, “I love you, God, I love you - so take me deeper, oh, I can hear you calling 
Inviting me in into the glorious…” 

I was made for rest in a world that’s striving - to lie down in the fields of green, 
to set my feet upon this holy ground, 
to build my life on the things unseen … 

Out from the ordinary into extraordinary. . .

How is it that a Christian is able to feel ‘not alone’ or ‘with another’ when by one’s self?  It is through choosing to engage the Holy Spirit who has taken up residency within the believer,³ being intentional about moving ‘into the glorious’, I suppose.  Indeed,

we experience belongingness by fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit—⁴ because we belong to Jesus Christ,

and are his treasured belonging.  Amen.