We belong

If, like me, you're old enough to remember the 1980's, you might remember a song by Pat Benatar - rock chick, big hair, big voice - called We Belong... the chorus goes like this...

We Belong to the light
We Belong to the thunder
We Belong to the sound of the words
We've both fallen under
Whatever we deny or embrace
For worse or for better
We Belong, We Belong
We Belong together

I'm not advocating the words as absolute truth but there's a part that, in the light of reading some of Romans 12, do ring true... whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better - oh, the artistic license of the songwriter - we belong, we belong, we belong together.

So says Paul in Romas 12 verse 8... so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

It doesn't say we can choose to belong... it doesn't promise we'll be treated paticularly well, liked or respected - although if we really take to heart God's transforming power, I hope we DO love genuinely and treat others well - it states a truth, as followers of Jesus Christ we belong to one another. You know the old saying, you can choose your friends but you're stuck with your family...

REAL belonging means caring for one another through good times and bad, it means making the effort to spend time together, it means allowing ourselves to be involved in other peoples' lives.
We've become a society of rather isolated nomads... gone are the days when families remained in a particular area and supported one another... freedom to travel, the need to relocate for work and the deelopment of technology has meant we can find ourselves in splendid isolation, far away from the ones we love.
In verses 1 and 2 Paul says this...
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.
 
He URGES us - not a suggestion, this word has the same root as urgency, it's something important - because God is so gracious to us, to give ourselves over to God. I love those words... be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
It's an appropriate response, the giving, for everything that God has given us. We're not forced, we do it out of love, because we want to, because we recognise that this belonging to God is what gives life purpose, meaning and hope.
 
My desire is to belong in a place where there is true community, a place where anyone can feel secure in the knowledge that they'll be accepted, a place where someone will always have a little time for you, a place where rejection is a thing of the past. I long for a place where forgiveness is the norm, where gossip is a thing of the past and where passion for God colours every action. I pray for a place where actions speak louder than words, where encouragement reigns and where stories of hope are freely shared.
A big ask? No, a picture of God's church, beginning to operate His way rather than ours.
 
Want to belong?