One Of Another!

I walked into the main office of a state park in our area to get some information some time ago and was greeted in the following manner by one of the park office staff: “There’s our walker.” Did I belong to them? Was I really theirs? Was I owned by the park or any of its employees? More recently after being the community volunteer chaplain to be dispatched to deal with a very tragic death, word filtered back to some of the other chaplains regarding how I had dealt with the situation and the chaplain coordinator said, “That’s our boy.” Again, a similar expression of attachment. Perhaps many of those reading this focus have had similar experiences.

“My.” “Mine.” “Our.” “Ours.” Those are possessive pronouns. They are indicative of a sense of attachment; words that imply BELONGING. Are those words not usually used in a good sense? Perhaps they are words we understand to simply reveal a desire for association. We might even be greatly encouraged by a sign others want to be associated with us in some way. How much more so should that be the experience within the body of Christ, the church! How serious are we about the sense of BELONGING that ought to exist among us as Christians and especially within the local congregation?

In Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth he exhorted toward the following focus.
“(4) For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, (5) so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and INDIVIDUALLY MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER.” ( Romans 12:4-5 ESV)

“Members one of another.” Doesn’t that expression indicate a certain sense of BELONGING? The Greek seems to imply the idea of something mutual. Is there created among us a depth of relationship that might even indicate a sense of ownership from which arise statements such as: “There’s MY brother.”, “There’s MY sister.”, “That’s MY family.”, and “These are MY people.”?

Taking it a step further, do we individually own up to what goes along with that relationship? Such a sense of BELONGING to one another should compel us to earnestly look out for each other. That focus should instill a willingness to bear one another’s burdens. Such a mutual perspective ought to inspire us to stand by one another through thick and thin. (note Hebrews 10:33-34) Is such being mutually made manifest in our body life together?

Let us do our part to cultivate that sense of BELONGING within God’s family. May it become a sight so beautiful that others will want to be drawn into such an association in Christ as well. This is the only realm where the sense of BELONGING lasts an eternity.

Have a great day LOYALLY LOVE-LINKED TO OTHERS IN THE LORD!
Carl

See other teEn-MAIL on Relationships