More on 'Belonging'

If someone really knows you and even accepts you as you are but doesn’t “share their life” with you, then there’s no belonging either. To belong is to “participate in” the life of another and have that person participate in your life. Sharing life is sharing the truth about our histories, struggles, victories, dreams, fears, hopes, desires, values — everything.

When you have THAT with a person, you BELONG.We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

More on 'Belonging'

If someone really knows you and even accepts you as you are but doesn’t “share their life” with you, then there’s no belonging either. To belong is to “participate in” the life of another and have that person participate in your life. Sharing life is sharing the truth about our histories, struggles, victories, dreams, fears, hopes, desires, values — everything.

When you have THAT with a person, you BELONG.We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

One way to define a 'sense' of belonging is to break it down into

1.   Knowing (= truly seeing and being seen).

2.   Loving/Accepting (= affirming, valuing, celebrating, inviting, including, etc.).

3.   Sharing life.

It’s one thing to say you LOVE another when you don’t KNOW that other. It’s another thing to KNOW them and still LOVE them.

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

IIs there more to understanding or knowing this “sense of belonging” than going to church or paying dues at the country club? The truest forms of love, which are (when it remains a true friendship based in love and grace) and true friendship, all seem to share a few common elements:   

1.   Knowing (= truly seeing and being seen). 

2.   Loving/Accepting (= affirming, valuing, celebrating, inviting, including, etc.).    

3.   Sharing life.    

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

I have come to believe that you and I should focus our efforts on developing a deeper understanding of our relationship with Him. By understanding, I mean something like Paul wrote in Ephesians 3, that you would become rooted and established in love. It won’t be enough to learn what can be known of your relationship with Him with your mind alone. The deeper understanding worth seeking and finding is the understanding that can only be known in your heart.  

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

I have come to believe that you and I should focus our efforts on developing a deeper understanding of our relationship with Him. By understanding, I mean something like Paul wrote in Ephesians 3, that you would become rooted and established in love. It won’t be enough to learn what can be known of your relationship with Him with your mind alone. The deeper understanding worth seeking and finding is the understanding that can only be known in your heart.  

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

In our most recent blog we began working to communicate with you this idea that you belong in and to the Lord and in and to His Kingdom. For some, this is an easy thing to understand, while for others, including me sometimes, it is nearly incomprehensible. But, it doesn't take long to see it when you start looking.

John begins to communicate this idea of belonging within the first few verses of his Gospel.    

In verse 12, he says this:

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. John 1:12  We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

We’re building a foundation for the statements that remind us of this fundamental understanding of our walk with God:

Because I believe in Him, I have relationship with Him: I belong to Him and with Him

When I started to think about what it means to belong to Him and His Kingdom, how it might change my life and maybe yours, too, I was struck by the depth of meaning the idea of belonging holds.

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

Do you know the Apostles’ Creed or Nicene Creed from Catholic or Lutheran catechism? How did catechism help you in your walk with Christ?  

I’ve heard that for some that thinking about the Apostle’s Creed brings up bad memories or a reliance on too much tradition.  I would ask that you ask the Lord how to overcome those kinds of feelings. It isn’t that they aren’t valid. It’s that those feelings may keep you from learning the central ideas that Christians believe.We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

What do you believe that makes you a Christian?

I am concerned that many don’t know how to answer the question, “What makes you a Christian?” While there are several ways to answer the question depending on how you perceive it, I am looking for an answer from you that identifies what you believe (know) about what Jesus did for you through His death on the Cross, His shed blood and His resurrection.

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

What do you believe that makes you a Christian? What is the value in knowing the Apostle’s Creed?

Because I believe in Him, I have relationship with Him (from our most recent blog).

The value for you in knowing the Apostle’s Creed today is to identify the main principles Christians of all denominations agree are the foundation of faith in Christ.  

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

Once you accept the Word, that you have entered His house by faith, and that by faith you have been given grace (Ephesians 2:10), you can conclude that you belong.   

Having accepted the above, you can then say this:   

Because I believe in Him, I have relationship with Him.    

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

“Whether you believe you could ever do any of the works we are talking about, it is important that you know what He thinks of you and what place you have in His house.”  

 If that’s true, then the right questions should be, “What does God think of you?” What place do you have in His House? His Kingdom? Whatever He thinks of you, what place you have is only relevant if you believe in Him.   

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

Do you walk through every day thinking and wondering if God even knows who you are, let alone any thought that you might come to know who He is?  

Whether you believe you could ever do any of the works we are talking about, it is important that you know what He thinks of you and what place you have in His house.  

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

You have a relationship with the Living God who cares for you and has a plan for you to do His works. You belong. Because of you belong, you can ask Him questions about what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. And if you do something that doesn’t work the way you expect it to, you can ask Him what happened and how it should have gone differently. Because of the riches of His grace in kindness to you, He will help you understand.  

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

One of these days, I’ll get to it!

My old snowblower kicked the bucket last year after about 25 years of reliable use. It’s behind my garage right now because I want to “tinker” with it. It’s been there a year already. It’s still there because I don’t know exactly what to do to take it apart. And I tell myself I don’t have time right now.We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

One of these days, I’ll get to it!

My old snowblower kicked the bucket last year after about 25 years of reliable use. It’s behind my garage right now because I want to “tinker” with it. It’s been there a year already. It’s still there because I don’t know exactly what to do to take it apart. And I tell myself I don’t have time right now.We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

Do you tackle tasks and projects with a “Fire! Ready! Aim!” approach? You and I tend to think, as soon as we know we’re supposed to do something, that we actually know how to do it… When we do this, its like It’s like trying to put together a piece of Ikea furniture without reading the instructions. Maybe I’m the only one who has had this experience! This is exactly what I mean by the “Fire! Ready! Aim!” approach.  

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

“Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.” Rev 1:2 Being passive in our walks with Christ might be the biggest problem we face as men and women in the body of Christ. You and I have received an invitation into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Jesus.

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

In Revelation 3, Jesus is giving a serious warning to all of us. His words to the church of Sardis indicate He is keeping track of what we do; your deeds, my deeds are not done yet. The response we are encouraged to take is to “Wake up!” and strengthen the things that remain, which are about to die. Receive His discipline and be earnest and repent.   

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