You Belong to God

Know that the LORD is God—he made us; we belong to him. We are his people, the sheep of his own pasture.

Psalms 100:3

I’ll never forget my first baseball uniform. As a member of the Athletics, a T-ball team in Glendale, California, I was privileged to wear a magenta uniform with a white number 8 emblazoned upon it. I can vividly remember gathering for the first time with my team as we paraded into Stengel Field for the grand opening of the T-ball season. As I walked alongside my magenta-clad teammates, I felt as if I belonged. It was a marvelous feeling.

Psalm 100:3 reminds us that we belong to God. The Common English Bible states: “Know that the LORD is God—he made us; we belong to him.” The Hebrew original of the last phrase can be literally translated, “we are his.” The next part of the verse reinforces this truth by adding, “We are his people, the sheep of his own pasture.” Thus, we belong to God because he made us to be his very own people. He continues to watch over us as our good shepherd.

What difference does it make that we belong to God? This simple truth can transform our lives. It can give us profound reassurance of our self-worth. We matter because we belong to the Creator of the universe. The fact that we belong to God also gives order to our lives. We are first and foremost God’s people. Thus, all of our other roles in life must be seen in the light of this primary reality. You may be a lawyer or manager or teacher, but you are first of all one of God’s people. You may be a father or a mother or a friend, but you are first of all one of God’s people. How you live in each of these other roles will be shaped by your primary relationship to God as someone who belongs to him.

Sometimes, when life is hard, or when we’ve turned away from God for an extended season, we can wonder if we still belong to him. The good news of the Gospel is that nothing can ultimately keep us away from God and his love. As it says in Romans 8:38-39, “I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.” This means that nothing, NOTHING, can erase the fact that you belong to God through Jesus Christ. What great news!

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: When have you experienced the joy of belonging? Do you feel as if you belong to God? Why or why not? If you were confident that you belonged to God for eternity, how might this affect your life today?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, how good to remember that I belong to you. It’s so easy for me to think of myself primarily in terms of other kinds of belonging: I belong in my family; I belong among my colleagues at work; I belong to my church. All of these are true, of course. Yet, today I’m reminded that the primary, defining, transformational belonging of my life is simply this: I belong to you!

Thank you, dear Lord, for this truth. Thank you for claiming me in your grace. Thank you for reaching out to me in Jesus Christ. Thank you for the fact that nothing in all creation can separate me from your love.

May I live today as if I belong to you. May I live in the freedom of your grace, seeking to give delight to you in all that I do. Amen.