Cherished, Precious and Wanted (Pt. 4)
by: Carole L. Haines
A large part of knowing how much God loves us is the fact that Jesus not only invites us to be forgiven of our sins, but He invites us to belong to Him. Initiating a personal and intimate relationship with God. There is unspeakable joy in belonging to the Lord. That is what has been going through my head the last day or so. Jesus speaks this to us:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16-17)
Peter tells us this in his epistle:
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Pete3, vs 9)
What an amazing privilege it is to finally find a place, a person that I belong to. O how my heart has yearned for this from my earliest days. Belonging to God, and to the Body of Christ is one of the greatest gifts of our Salvation. I searched for it in my family growing up, my friends, my husband, my children. I did not find that longing fulfilled until I met Jesus and walked with Him a long time. He is not going to cast me out or find something wrong with me and just ditch me. (John 6:37)
The Fallout of not belonging is devastating on a worldwide scale. Hate groups, gangs, broken families, broken nations, wars. I believe God created us to belong from the beginning because He as our Triune God, and as such they belong to each other. We are created in His image, therefore we yearn to belong to someone, to find a place that we fit in and are loved.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;… God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them…(Genesis 1:26-28a)”
7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
God created us with a craving for belonging. His adoption of us into His family through salvation is the only experience perfect enough to fulfill that longing. “God demonstrates His love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
Dear Child of God, You are cherished, precious and wanted by God, Your Creator, Redeemer and Friend. Come to Him and really gaze into the truth of that love in His heart. Receive it, believe it, rest in it from this time forth and forevermore. Have a Blessed Day.
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