Called to Belong

"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are." (I John 3:1)

We often speak of God's love as being demonstrated by His giving His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross in our place. (John 3:16) But God not only loved us enough to provide a Savior and a way for us to have a relationship with God through Him, He also calls us His children. Wow. As a believer in Jesus Christ, I am a child of God. That is the glorious truth of this scripture verse.

One of the greatest blessings that comes with becoming a follower of Jesus Christ is that God makes us a part of a family. Every other follower of Jesus Christ is my brother or sister. God is our Father. We belong to a family. And in a sense this is an even more significant relationship than that of my earthly family because my Christian family is eternal.

In spite of the fact that our society has developed a sense of strong independence and people like to think of their relationship to God as private, the truth is we need one another. Heb. 10: 24 calls us to consider ways to encourage one another to a faithful walk with God. Prov. 27:17 says, "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." Whether we like it or not, God has created us in such a way that it is absolutely vital to our survival that we connect as family, and God calls that family church.