1 Peter 5:6-7

To Whom Do I Belong?

A Question Of Love

1 John 4:7-11

To Whom Do I Belong?

A Question Of Love

A sense of belonging comes when you have a feeling of being loved and the desire to love others. Until you feel that love/acceptance, you will feel like an outsider in the group. You feel like you just don’t fit in. During 7th grade, I struggled to fit into my church youth group. Our youth group consisted of mostly high school students; I was one of two 7th grade students. The friends that I did have at the church were a year younger than me. The first several months of youth, I felt like an outsider, like I was crashing the party to which I was not invited. About halfway through 7th grade, at a New Year’s Eve Lock-in, the tide turned. For months, I had stood on the sidelines watching the older kids play touch football in the gym. But this time, I was invited to play. I felt accepted. And it completely changed the way I felt about myself and the group. I felt like I belonged. I felt loved and accepted.

God invites all people into His house and family. God loves all people and wants to include everyone. Because God loves everyone, we should love everyone. There are people in this world who do not feel loved and accepted. You might be one of them. Know that God loves you and accepts you. Know that as Christians we must love and accept those whom God accepts and loves as well.

James 4:6-10

To Whom Do I Belong?

A Question Of Love

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” If you are looking for a person to belong to, God is that person. But what does it mean to draw near to God?

The next two commands in James 4:7 are to cleanse your hands and purify your hearts. In these statements, we learn how to draw near to God. We draw near to God in our thoughts, actions, and motives. The entire book of James tells us how to act, speak, and think like a follower of Jesus. James teaches us to put faith and works together. James reminds us how much damage our words can do. James tells us not to show partiality toward the rich. It is in these actions that we draw near to God.

What is it that you can do today that will draw you near to God? We can all watch our tongues. We can all do a better job of treating all people equally. We could all act more in line with the faith we proclaim. What work is God calling you to do today?