If I am let down and disappointed, what difference does it make to know I belong to Jesus?
If worry has clutched me and stolen my peace, what difference does it make to know I belong to Jesus?
If nothing seems to change, inertia sets in, what difference does it make to know I belong to Jesus?
If I’m anxiously waiting, what difference does it make to know I belong to Jesus?
If I’m misunderstood, what difference does it make to know I belong to Jesus?
Lord Jesus, it does matter that we belong to You, but we have to make the effort to find out why. In disappointing, anxious, fearful or despondent situations, there is the choice to remember that we belong to You and work through the situation with You or to live as though You have left us to cope alone.
You created us with the desire to belong. In the beginning of creation, You declared that it was not good for man to be alone and You created a companion for Adam. You are a God of relationship. You created us to belong to You and one another.
Belonging thrives on commitment. Jesus, You spelled this out in the tenth chapter of John, casting Yourself as the Good Shepherd. In this chapter, You express ultimate commitment to the sheep, providing abundant life and saving them to the point of laying down Your life. The bonds of belonging are so strong that no one can snatch the sheep from Your hand or the Father’s.
Throughout Your time on earth, You spoke and lived out the language of belonging and commitment. On many occasions, we witness Your commitment to the lives You touched. The man born blind, whom You healed, refused to deny Your power. He confessed, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see (John 9:25).” For this stand, the Pharisees banished him from the synagogue. When You heard of this, You were not too busy to seek him out and reveal Yourself to him as the Son of God. You were always totally committed to the lives You touched.
After Jairus, the synagogue leader, asked You to come and heal his dying daughter, he heard that he need not bother the teacher any long because his daughter had died. Although surrounded by a massive crowd and You were involved with the woman healed from the issue of blood, You did not let Jairus retreat in despair but took the time to speak reassuringly to him. “Do not be afraid;only believe, and she will be made well (Luke 8:50).” You were always committed.
A man afflicted with leprosy approached You making the declaration that You could heal him if you were willing. You not only replied that You were willing, instantly healing him, but You reached out and touched him. This was a touch of belonging.
The Syro-Phoenician who kept pleading with You to heal her tormented daughter was was an outsider, a Gentile, not a Jew. She did not belong. But You broke the rules of belonging or we might say extended them when You granted her request, honoring her faith and setting her daughter free. Neither did the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well belong. As a Jew, You could have ignored her and felt justified, but You drew her and the Samaritans of her town into Your circle of belonging. The tax collectors and immoral women did not belong, but You widened the circle and invited them to belong to You, welcoming them as much as the crowds who followed You. The only people who could not belong to You were those who did not want to belong.
Lord Jesus, we are so privileged to have You fill our need for belonging with Yourself, to know Your commitment to us is as strong and secure as it was to Your closest disciples. You never let us go it alone. No matter what we face, You are with us. We belong!
Belonging to Jesus should make all the difference to our lives. If not, why not?
Is it because we deny ourselves the privilege of claiming His commitment to us? Are we too independent or self-sufficient? Do we consider ourselves too unworthy? Is it because we know belonging comes with responsibility? Relationships are never one-sided. We don’t earn belonging to Him, but reciprocity is a part of all real relationships. There is nothing that He needs from us, but He calls us to extend ourselves to His world. “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you (John 15:12).”
Loving others as He loves us can take the shape of letting others know they belong. This demands commitment, the same type of commitment He confers on us. As we witness in His life, belonging and commitment have no outsiders. The unlovely and the inconvenient are included. Endowing another person with the same sense of belonging that He bequeaths to every one of us takes sacrifice, sometimes small efforts, other times, demanding efforts.
Today, who have I made to feel that they belong and, tomorrow, who will I make to feel that they belong? Letting them know that they matter? It’s that simple, giving the gift of belonging as Jesus has given it to me.
THE PAINTING
The white space in each panel plays a significant role in breaking up holistic forms into multiple parts. However, although fractured, the closeness of the parts and their coloring allow the individual forms to be read as singular forms. The individual parts take on increased significance by belonging to something greater than their themselves. Such a configuration could signify our belonging to Jesus. Our lives, as the painted forms, are composed of diverse parts, but belonging to Him, endows this diversity with meaning beyond the individual parts.
We could also read the divided forms as members of His body which exhibit considerable heterogeneity. As head of the body, He imparts a oneness that would otherwise be impossible among such disparateness bringing greater significance than possible for an individual member.
Belonging to Him changes everything. Just as the painted forms are altered through their relationship to one another, so we, as individuals and as members of His body, are made different.
Panels five and ten provide another reading of belonging. The white space in these two panels does not divide the forms, but produces a gap indicating incomplete forms. Absence speaks loudly. Most obviously, given this devotional, belonging to Jesus would supply the missing parts and transform the fragmented forms into a meaningful whole.
Lord, what has happened today that tells me I belong to You?
The man with leprosy knew that He belonged to You because You reached out and physically touched Him when no one else would.
Have I known Your touch today? If not physically, in other ways?
You granted the request of the Syro-Phonecian woman and brought her into Your circle of belonging.
Have I experienced You answering a prayer for me today?
You personally revealed Yourself to the man born blind.
Have I had a personal encounter with You today?
You spoke reassuring words to let Jairus know he was on Your agenda.
Have You spoken calming words to me today?
Lord Jesus, it does matter that we belong to You. if I took the time to stop and take note, I would realize that my life is different because I belong to You. Every day, help me recognize and treasure this difference. Isaiah told us that there was no deceit in Your mouth (53:9). We can believe Your claim that You own us, lay down Your life for us and nothing can snatch us from Your hand. There is no disclaimer to this truth. These words are true for us every day (not just the good days).
Holy Spirit, sear our hearts with the truth that we belong to Jesus and it makes all the difference.
Sydney Walker, July 15, 2023
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