Do you know that you belong?
Including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ Romans 1:6
Heavenly Father, Precious Savior, Holy Spirit,
Just the other day I passed a billboard that caught my attention:
In bold black letters, it proclaimed, “You belong here.”
As it turned out, it was just a brilliant marketing plan
from the billboard company.
But then, when I noticed that little word “belong”
in my devotional reading today,
I smiled, because for you,
it’s no “marketing plan” —
it’s the simple and glorious truth.
For indeed, when you call us,
you call us to belong —
to our Savior, Jesus,
to our King, Christ,
to you, our adopted Father.
You call us your beloved,
and you call us to be set apart
as your special people,
also known as “saints” (see Rom. 1:7).
In Jude we are told that belonging to you
means we are beloved by you
and kept for Jesus.
Lord, we know what the word “beloved” means;
we have a harder time believing it’s true—
help us to believe our belovedness
that we might know our belonging.
To be kept for Jesus
means to be protected
when temptation assaults us,
to be safeguarded through the many trials we face.
What good news that we belong to you, triune God!
Help us to live out of this good news
and to seek out others who need to know
the security and joy
of belonging to you!
Amen.
Read Romans 1:6-7; Jude 1:1-2; 1 Peter 2:9-10.
