Most of us have a need to belong. We want to be where people know us by name. People have favorite gathering places, whether it is a club, church, lodge, etc., because they are known and they feel comfortable and they feel a sense of belonging. Where you are known and feel comfortable, you are more apt to share your feelings and your headaches and your joys. There, too, you don’t have to pretend to be that which you are not. You can let your hair down, to put it in the vernacular.

Christians have a place where they belong as well. We belong to our Heavenly Father. He knows all about us, even to the hairs on our heads. We can’t hide anything from Him nor can we pretend to be what we aren’t. Our Heavenly Father has been through the fires with us and he has walked hand in hand with us through the great times. Not one thing about us has been hid from His sight! God has seen us at our worst, and, the wonderment of it all is that He still chooses to associate Himself with us! (Cp. I Cor. 4:5).

In Isaiah 44:3-5, we read, “For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and my blessings on your offspring; They will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses. One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s; ...” Christians have a place where they can truly and most assuredly belong. This “belonging” can be one of permanence provided we choose to continue our close relationship with our Blessed Father!

In Acts 20:28, we read, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” A dear and precious price has been paid for us to belong to God, make no mistake about it. We belong to a unique (one of a kind) institution not made with hands. We are God’s possession. He loves us dearly because we are made in His very image. (John 3:16; Gen. 1:26, 27). “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). We are a blest people, indeed.

The great news about this unique institution is that it welcomes all. We are all welcomed to belong here and serve the one true and living God. Because of the death, burial, and resurrection of God’s dearly beloved Son, Jesus Christ, every single person who obeys the Gospel will be added to this group of likewise believers! There is absolutely no reason to feel left out in the cold. You can belong and be what the Lord’s wants you to be!

The greatest gift God has given to us is the ability to truthfully and confidently say, “I belong to God!” You can hear these four words resounding in your ears, “I belong to God!” Then think of the weight this will carry on “Judgement Day?” We can stand before a just and righteous God knowing that Christ will be there as our “Advocate” (attorney) representing us! Christ will tell His Heavenly Father, “Father this one has been bought and paid for with my precious blood!

Folks, if you don’t belong to the Lord, why do you delay? What keeps you from obeying the Gospel of the Lord? Whatever reasons you can think of, discard them right now, because your “Book of Excuses” will carry absolutely no weight at all on that fateful day of reckoning! The Lord wants you to have that great feeling of belonging to Him! There are three votes for your soul: The Devil has one vote, God has one vote, and you have the deciding vote! Yes, you have the deciding vote!

If we at the Wooddale Church of Christ can be of any spiritual assistance to you, please contact us by E-mail at Raymond Pecoraro, Bill Bryant or Tom Smith