If there’s one thing to be said with certainty about human nature, it is that we all need to belong. It’s a need that starts beckoning in the early childhood stages. Unfortunately, we are born in an era where you must go to great lengths to prove that you can belong. Worse, people are willing to manipulate and capitalize on that need to belong, making people behave in very uncouth ways. Nevertheless, there is a place where belong when we dare to proclaim and profess Christ as our Savior and God as our Father.
Being a Christian does not exempt you from wanting to belong. If anything, the more you want to be like Christ, the more you long for a community of brethren. Still, all people are broken, Christian or otherwise. Therefore, you are still prone to experiencing disloyalty and treachery, even among brethren. So then, what must you do to belong in the right and healthy Christian communities?
The first thing should be comprehending that you belong to your Father. Ideally, you already have someone to call home because you have a Father. The good thing about spiritual Fatherhood is that you can choose who becomes your father. The Bible says that some belong to the devil, their father (John 8:44). But then the same book talks about “being of God”(John 8:47). The first place of belonging should be who or what you identify as home. When all is said and done, home should be the one place you go to find rest and peace. That should be God for you. He is your Father and Friend. You will belong to His kingdom should you accept Him.
The next thing is you must gather with believers. In Hebrews 10:25, the Bible clearly tells us that it’s beneficial to assemble with other brethren. Be where other believers are. Humans are made to commune.
Jesus did it with the 12. So, if we really must be like Christ, we must commune with other people. That is regardless of the fact that amongst the believers, there may also be a Judas Iscariot. You cannot be afraid of gathering in hopes that you won’t cross paths with a treacherous person. If it happened to Jesus, you are not exempt. One Judas should not disband the whole discipleship of 12.
If you will belong in the right spaces and make them home, then you should count on God’s kingdom and the fellowship of believers. Therefore, as hard as it may be to mingle and make friends and keep them, I hope you find your way home. I hope you meet people that point you to Jesus. I hope you are in circles that talk about Jesus. But more so, I hope you comprehend, even in the most minute way, the love of God enough to know that you can always belong and are always welcome in His kingdom.
Scripture Reading: John 8:44 & 47; Hebrews 10:25
