Many times, when we think about how God loves us, we rightly think that God loves us no matter what. God does love us no matter what.

His rightful place in our hearts doesn’t begin and end as savior, though.  His rightful place in our hearts is not just Savior; it is also Lord.

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

When we contemplate what it means to belong to Him, we are growing in our understanding and experience of His love. God’s love for us is how we understand Him as Savior:  

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  John 3:16    

The role of Jesus in your life is not only that He is your savior, but that He is also Lord of all, including you. We’ll look at that more closely in our next blog.We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

The premise of the book, From Here ...By Faith is this: We have good works to do as Jesus, Paul and James alluded to in New Testament.

So, if we have good works to do and we know we belong, what are we supposed to do?

The answer to that question is that we must ask the Lord questions. How are we supposed to ask the Lord questions?

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

We are likely to be obedient when there is something in it for us, like a paycheck. We are more likely to be obedient when we care about the one asking us to do something based on the depth of relationship. I’ll do more, be more obedient, for my friends than I will for those who aren’t my friends. Among my friends, I do more for those I’m closest to than I do for those I’m not as close to.  

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

Let’s wrap up our ongoing conversation about what it means belong, by grace through faith, in and to the Kingdom of God.

See what Abraham did as noted in Hebrews 11:  

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.   Hebrews 11:8    

In this scripture we see that Abraham was obedient because of faith.   

Abraham’s obedience implied something more. It implied relationship.

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

If you’re already a believer, you already know the things on the checklist. Have quiet time every day. Read your Bible. Pray. Go to church, Tithe.

The checklist isn’t wrong. Please do the checklist. The checklist isn’t the relationship with Jesus, though, is it? The relationship is…something more. It’s moving forward and then waiting. It’s seeking and seeking and finally finding.  

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

Relationship isn’t a game, a competition, or a three- or four-step process. It is much more like a dance with moves and pauses and twirling, where movement indicates relationship rather than progress.  

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

Many times, when I write, I want to make a point and move on. I don’t think I can do any justice to the idea that you and I belong in and to the God of Heaven and Earth without giving you enough time to absorb this supernatural reality.   

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

You are a child of God! You are an heir to His kingdom!

Stated in the positive, you are a child of God because you believe; And that because He says so.

Stated in the negative, you cannot be a child of God and not believe; And that because He says so.

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

By faith you are adopted as a son or daughter of God. By faith you are no longer a slave to fear.  Over the next couple of weeks we’ll examine the relationships with God Paul identified: adopted son or daughter, one of His people, sons of God, a child of God. We’ take a moment to talk about your relationship with God as an adopted son or daughter.

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

It might be good to ask yourself, “On what do I base the idea that I have relationship with God?” As we’ve noted, the basis for relationship is faith. But how do you know what this relationship is? As a believer, what is your relationship with God?  

Over the next couple of weeks we’ll examine the relationships with God Paul identified:

• Adopted Son or Daughter

• One of His people

• Sons of God (with a little ‘s’)

• A Child of GodI feel like I belong to my family and to my close friends. I don’t feel like I belong to or with most people I know. I measure this feeling of belonging against things I can observe, like the commitment we have to each other, to have each other’s backs, to be there when one of us is going through a hard time. How would you measure these things in your life? 

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

Have you ever felt a “sense of belonging”?  

When have you thought to yourself, “I feel like I belong?” Remember what’s been said about feelings in the context of this question. Feeling like - sensing - you belong isn’t an emotional feeling. You may feel emotional when you think about it, but those feelings are secondary to knowing this sense of belonging.

I feel like I belong to my family and to my close friends. I don’t feel like I belong to or with most people I know. I measure this feeling of belonging against things I can observe, like the commitment we have to each other, to have each other’s backs, to be there when one of us is going through a hard time. How would you measure these things in your life? 

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

Most of us can easily imagine what it is like to be rejected for any of a million reasons. Everything changes when you place your faith in Christ! That simple choice moves into this amazing place. When you choose to believe, you instantly change from rejected to accepted! You change from being out to being in. For those who, in this world have actually been adopted, there is this momentous change. While every story of adoption is different, no story I’ve heard describes the experience God intends when you choose Him than the one here.

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

Most of us can easily imagine what it is like to be rejected for any of a million reasons. Everything changes when you place your faith in Christ! That simple choice moves into this amazing place. When you choose to believe, you instantly change from rejected to accepted! You change from being out to being in. For those who, in this world have actually been adopted, there is this momentous change. While every story of adoption is different, no story I’ve heard describes the experience God intends when you choose Him than the one here.

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

In our most recent blog we took a bit of a rabbit trail in order to give a bit of contest to what will follow as we continue posting blogs from the bool, “From Here …By Faith,” by Lenny Ouradnik, we encouraged to read through Ephesians chapters 1-3. The purpose for reading this passage is to help you grasp the enormous and wonderful things God has for you in His Kingdom. You belong to this Kingdom now! We’ll continue our look at this passage for answers to the question, “What is it you belong to?”

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

All this talk of belonging might beg the question, what is it you belong to? As a believer in Christ, you belong in and to the Kingdom of Heaven! The phraseology is so simple. You belong to something. That’s awesome! Can you tell what the Kingdom of Heaven is? What do you have access to as a member of this Kingdom? What does it feel like -to you - that you belong to the Kingdom of Heaven?We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

When you chose Christ, the Father chose you. In an incomprehensible way, He chose you as you chose Him. We know He chose us because of what John wrote in 1 John 4:19. We love, because He first loved us. The loving and the choosing go hand in hand.  

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

The essence of belonging is emotional—or better, a sense or a feeling. It is understood with the heart. When I say this “sense of belonging” is understood with the heart, I mean that it might be best described as a feeling. In this case, I suggest that we use the term “feeling” and the term “emotion” separately and differently in which “feeling” and “sense” are more related, and “emotion” is used to refer to being happy or sad or something like that. I may or may not feel emotional about this sense. The sense of belonging I have with my friends and family doesn’t always carry emotion. It’s just there. I trust the love of my family and friends. I feel secure knowing their love and care.   

Look at the list of some of the ways you belong in Him. Which of these statements of belonging mean the most to you?  

• You belong in God’s family  

• You are in His Kingdom   

• You have His inheritance; are a part of His inheritance  

• You are in His presence   

• You are in His will   

• You are with him  

• You are with Him in friendship    

• You are with Him in fellowship        

• You are with Him in living, in being   

• You belong to His church   

Over the last several weeks we have talked the idea of belonging. Belonging has been a bit difficult to talk about because it is hard to define. For the next few blogs we’ll conclude discussion around this section of blogs from the book “From Here …By Faith,” by Lenny Ouradnik.

Let me encourage you to think about what it means to really belong to God. Look through the prayer that Paul writes to the Ephesians beginning in Chapter 1 and continuing all the way through Ephesians 3. See how Paul prays for you to come to know Jesus and how meaningful it is that you belong! Let it sink into your heart and, as he says, let His love take root in your heart in a way that you may never have imagined.