Longing to Belong

1John 4:4

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (NIV)

We, Homo sapiens are created to be social beings. Our sense of belonging to a group, family or a person is the main driving force of establishing relationships. That is why the word ‘Family’ is held in such high esteem. We form groups, clubs, organizations, etc., so we can boldly say, ‘we belong to this group.’ No one in this world wishes to be alone. Maybe for a time being but not for long.

We envy those who belong to a special club where access is limited. We wish to belong to the inner circle of people whom we esteem highly. Girls in schools want to belong to the princesses club. Boys want to belong to the popular group. All our lives, we are struggling to fit in – fit in one group or the other. Why is this urge to belong so great? We define ourselves or sometimes transform ourselves just so we could fit in or be accepted by others.

Often, we are so desperate that we are willing to change to such an extent that we tend to forget who we actually are. In this process of belonging, many a times we have either lost or willingly given up our true identities. Too often we forget that we are created in God’s image and we are uniquely fashioned for a purpose. You see, God likes variety. However, our drive to belong forces us to change and become a replica of someone else. We fail to stop and ask ourselves if it is worth it.

We are called Christians because we belong to Christ. We are bought with a huge price. God is seeking us so He could establish us as heirs in His Kingdom. He loves us so much that He wants to be in our company all the time. We belong to the eternal Kingdom. We fail to realize and recognize that we already belong to our Father in heaven. Is it because we don’t see that eternal Kingdom that we long for these temporal clubs? When we walk about our daily lives, we should walk in boldness that we belong to the everlasting Kingdom and that we are heirs to the Kingdom. We are given special privileges: seeking the audience of the King whenever, wherever and however, we are given authority on this earth, we can boldly approach the throne of Grace without any inhibitions, and many more. We already belong to the ETERNAL CLUB! Let us transform into Kingdom people by renewing our minds.

The above verse 1 John 4:4 in the Message translation sums up beautifully:

My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. These people belong to the Christ-denying world. They talk the world’s language and the world eats it up. But we come from God and belong to God.