Belonging
Read Genesis 17:10-14.
Where do you belong? It's a question everyone wants and needs an answer to; there is deep within us this longing to belong somewhere, to someone or something. Some of that feeling is wrapped up in wanting to make sure we matter, that our lives make some sort of difference. And some of it is because God has placed within us this need for attachment, connection, community.
One of the fascinating pieces of this year's election cycle has been centered around belonging. People who belonged to this political party or that one are feeling a sense of loss, of lostness, as many believe their party has abandoned them. You saw it at both conventions this summer, in those who can't fathom a Trump presidency and those who desired a Sanders presidency. Both felt betrayed by their party and were left without a sense of belonging. Do they still fit where they have always fit before? Neither convention seemed to provide any answers.
This longing for belonging begins as soon as we are born. We have an inborn desire to connect with our mother and father, to belong to a family. That's why it's so important in those early hours that babies are held and loved. If they don't connect in those hours, there can be severe emotional and sometimes even physical challenges. Belonging is more than a "feeling." It's a deep, desperate need.
Beyond belonging to a family, there is an innate need within us to belong to something or someone more—there is a longing for God "hard wired" into us. Some people supplant that need by giving themselves to a cause or an addiction, but we were, to quote Chris Tomlin, made to worship. And we will worship something or someone. So early on in his dealings with humankind, God made provision for belonging. He offered connection. The covenant he made with Abraham (and all of Abraham's descendants) was an act of belonging, but in those early days, there was a need for a reminder, a physical sign of belonging. That sign was circumcision, performed on a child at eight days old. Not only did such an act set the Jews aside from their neighbors, it was a constant reminder of who these children of Abraham belonged to. They were not their own; they were children of the covenant—an "everlasting covenant," one that God would never break!
The covenant revealed God as a promise-making God, and reminded the people that they were to be promise-keeping people. At eight days old, a baby boy was marked; he belonged, not just to his family and not just to his tribe. He belonged to God, the almighty creator of the universe. It's a promise he would have to choose to live into, but the mark reminded him that God graciously welcomed, accepted and chose him, even before he could speak. He belonged, just because he existed. And with that kind of offer, why wouldn't we respond?
God continues to offer that kind of belonging to each and every person. We are loved, wanted and welcomed by God. How will we respond?
Where do you belong? It's a question everyone wants and needs an answer to; there is deep within us this longing to belong somewhere, to someone or something. Some of that feeling is wrapped up in wanting to make sure we matter, that our lives make some sort of difference. And some of it is because God has placed within us this need for attachment, connection, community.
One of the fascinating pieces of this year's election cycle has been centered around belonging. People who belonged to this political party or that one are feeling a sense of loss, of lostness, as many believe their party has abandoned them. You saw it at both conventions this summer, in those who can't fathom a Trump presidency and those who desired a Sanders presidency. Both felt betrayed by their party and were left without a sense of belonging. Do they still fit where they have always fit before? Neither convention seemed to provide any answers.
This longing for belonging begins as soon as we are born. We have an inborn desire to connect with our mother and father, to belong to a family. That's why it's so important in those early hours that babies are held and loved. If they don't connect in those hours, there can be severe emotional and sometimes even physical challenges. Belonging is more than a "feeling." It's a deep, desperate need.
Beyond belonging to a family, there is an innate need within us to belong to something or someone more—there is a longing for God "hard wired" into us. Some people supplant that need by giving themselves to a cause or an addiction, but we were, to quote Chris Tomlin, made to worship. And we will worship something or someone. So early on in his dealings with humankind, God made provision for belonging. He offered connection. The covenant he made with Abraham (and all of Abraham's descendants) was an act of belonging, but in those early days, there was a need for a reminder, a physical sign of belonging. That sign was circumcision, performed on a child at eight days old. Not only did such an act set the Jews aside from their neighbors, it was a constant reminder of who these children of Abraham belonged to. They were not their own; they were children of the covenant—an "everlasting covenant," one that God would never break!
The covenant revealed God as a promise-making God, and reminded the people that they were to be promise-keeping people. At eight days old, a baby boy was marked; he belonged, not just to his family and not just to his tribe. He belonged to God, the almighty creator of the universe. It's a promise he would have to choose to live into, but the mark reminded him that God graciously welcomed, accepted and chose him, even before he could speak. He belonged, just because he existed. And with that kind of offer, why wouldn't we respond?
God continues to offer that kind of belonging to each and every person. We are loved, wanted and welcomed by God. How will we respond?
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