Belonging gives one a unique feeling of importance, encouragement and completeness. To suggest otherwise denies a core desire that exists within our hearts and leads to a bizarre situation in which we live in a fog of deception generated by the conflict between our hearts and souls. So far there is nothing positive or negative about the emotion and our need, however there is a ironic twist that hides within our hearts. We need and want to belong. At the same time we often want and need our sense of belonging to be exclusive!
I know it might sound strange at first however doesn’t it feel just a little bit better to know that you have something that someone else doesn’t. I don’ sense that this is a conscious desire to grab something unfairly, it seems to be more of a inner satisfaction that comes from knowing that one is a member of a special club.
“I belong!”
“I have been accepted!”
“I am special!”
Competition confirms that being special is reserved for the very elite. Not many can finish and only one can finish first! The medal stand holds three. We can either accept and compete or stand-by and lose. This is the harsh reality that reflects life as it is today.
Everything confirms the truth of this premise; work, invitations, economic success. Yet there are clear indications of something different, of those who operate from a totally new perspective. John recorded what he saw.
“I looked again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races and languages.” (Revelation 7.4)
Imagine – a place where everyone can win! Dream – no barriers because of where you came from, how much success you have had in the world’s eyes or what values you were willing to give us. Live – in the reality of hope available and assured for all.
For many this appears as an unreachable, illogical state only existing in imagination. I can witness to the reality of what God offers to you and to me, now.
