Belong
These
days we can buy memberships to everything from health clubs to the British
aristocracy––proof of our intrinsic desire to either fit in
with those like us or be associated with those we wish to emulate. Belonging
is a key Biblical concept as well. In the Bible, God spelled out which
land belonged to which people, who belonged to which family, and what
belonged to God himself. This usually prevented conflict and, at the same
time, clarified owners' rights and members' benefits.
God dictates what belongs to him in the spiritual realm. All of humanity
is born belonging to the world––enslaved to our flawed human
nature, destined for physical and spiritual death. But through Jesus Christ,
we're saved from the world's grasp and owned by a master who holds the
keys to eternal freedom from death and misery. By belonging to God, we
belong to someone who sees us as his valued children, adopted into his
royal family (see Adoption).
No one is
richer than God because everything belongs to him.
Job 12:13, 16; 25:2; 41:11
Psalm 47:9; 95:4-5; 115:16
The Israelites belonged to God as his servants.
Leviticus 25:55
God declares what belongs to whom.
Joshua 18:1-10
Salvation belongs to God, and those who believe in Jesus Christ
for salvation belong to the Lord.
John 15:19
Romans 14:8
Revelation 7:10; 19:1
The secret things belong to the Lord, but what God reveals belongs
to us.
Deuteronomy 29:29
|