Have you ever felt like you do not belong? Maybe you have felt misunderstood or just do not seem to fit in wherever you find yourself.
It is okay, but it is not true.
The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:23 that we belong and Whose we are:
“And you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.” (NKJV)
In this passage Paul wrote to the Christians of the church and told them that as believers they do not belong to the leaders of the church but to Christ and ultimately to God as Christ is in Him. The church leaders were not to have the last say about their lives but God did. It is the same for us today. We do not belong to any other human being, but to Christ. And because Christ belongs to God, we belong to God.
1 Corinthians 7:23 reminds us again that we were bought at a price and should therefore not become slaves of human beings. We are servants of God and not men. We should not downgrade our position in Christ to be ruled by men.
From that first moment that you accept Jesus as your Savior and enter God’s kingdom, you belong. You are not a misfit. You matter. You belong. You have a heavenly calling and a purpose to serve in this world at this time. No man is greater than you as you are hidden in the Greatest of all, Jesus Christ.
Even when you belong nowhere else among family and friends, you already belong to Christ. Even when you are continuously misunderstood by family, friends, colleagues, it is okay as no-one gets you better than God does. He created you. He gave you your desires, opinions and dreams. He knows where you are coming from and where you are going. Let not people and their perceptions of you determine your path, let God lead you into the path He designed for you.
There is even more to this: because you belong to Christ and He belongs to God, you are defined and positioned in Christ and Christ is in you through the presence of His Holy Spirit. And through the Holy Spirit you are meant for life:
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (NKJV)
The very same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is in you. The same Holy Spirit that healed the sick in the Bible is in you. The same One, not and updated version, but the same One. Do you understand the potential you have in you based on Who is in you and Who you are?
1 John 4:4 also says, “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” (NLT)
The next time you feel like you do not belong, remember only this: you do belong … to Christ … to God!