Together # 7
An Attitudinal Together
An Attitudinal Together
Belong to One Another
copyright by Dick Wulf, 2018
We belong to Jesus Christ, and He gives us to one another. Embrace a lifestyle that shows “ownership” in the lives of those Christians close to you.
Joshua 7; Rom 12:5; 1 Cor 6:19-20
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This Together is one of the most important because individualistic Christianity has such dominance in spite of our need for each other’s help in life and spiritual growth.
Jesus bought us with His blood.
You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
1 Cor 6:19-20
1 Cor 6:19-20
Then, like a librarian, Jesus loans us out to each other.
Christians belong to one another. God proclaims it in the Bible. If Jesus is Lord in reality and not just in our talk, then He has the right to tell us to think and act like we belong to one another.
The concept of “belonging” must not be reduced to its simplest and thus easiest expression if God is to be honored and glorified. “Biblical belonging” is not to be likened to belonging to a book club or some store’s rewards program. Nor is it satisfied by church membership where we can say be belong to First Church of Whatever City.
Minimizing the faith by claiming we obey something in the Bible when we only do it a little is dangerous. We must be careful with “belonging” – not to dismiss it as something we think we already do very well.
For example, every church has a few very hospitable members who invite people into their homes regularly. But it would be wrong for that church to claim that it comes close to God’s instruction to be hospitable. So, let’s not reduce belonging to one another to the least costly definition.
We must understand that belonging means being responsible for one another. To belong to one another means to embrace a lifestyle that emphasizes intentional involvement with other believers because we belong to them and they to us.
In a family, for example, siblings have responsibility to watch out for one another more than for neighbor children because they belong to one another as members of the family. For sure, they do not let neighborhood friends run out into traffic. But in the family there is more responsibility because their lives, their successes and failures, are bound up with one another. For example, siblings are to let their parents know if a brother is skipping school and to help each other remember to do chores. They are responsible, especially in the absence of their parents, to see that all are treated fairly and not bullied.
In the same way, Christians are to take more responsibility for one another than for those outside of the faith.
Christians belong to one another. God proclaims it in the Bible. If Jesus is Lord in reality and not just in our talk, then He has the right to tell us to think and act like we belong to one another.
The concept of “belonging” must not be reduced to its simplest and thus easiest expression if God is to be honored and glorified. “Biblical belonging” is not to be likened to belonging to a book club or some store’s rewards program. Nor is it satisfied by church membership where we can say be belong to First Church of Whatever City.
Minimizing the faith by claiming we obey something in the Bible when we only do it a little is dangerous. We must be careful with “belonging” – not to dismiss it as something we think we already do very well.
For example, every church has a few very hospitable members who invite people into their homes regularly. But it would be wrong for that church to claim that it comes close to God’s instruction to be hospitable. So, let’s not reduce belonging to one another to the least costly definition.
We must understand that belonging means being responsible for one another. To belong to one another means to embrace a lifestyle that emphasizes intentional involvement with other believers because we belong to them and they to us.
In a family, for example, siblings have responsibility to watch out for one another more than for neighbor children because they belong to one another as members of the family. For sure, they do not let neighborhood friends run out into traffic. But in the family there is more responsibility because their lives, their successes and failures, are bound up with one another. For example, siblings are to let their parents know if a brother is skipping school and to help each other remember to do chores. They are responsible, especially in the absence of their parents, to see that all are treated fairly and not bullied.
In the same way, Christians are to take more responsibility for one another than for those outside of the faith.
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,
especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Gal 6:10
especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Gal 6:10
Here’s another example. If a lawnmower or toaster oven belongs to me, I am responsible for it’s well-being and use. If I belong to other Christians and they belong to me, then I am to some extent responsible for their well-being and use. Even though they are primarily responsible for themselves, there is a biblical sense in which I am connected to them because God has decided that we belong to one another. Therefore, I am responsible to watch out for them and want to because their lives co-mingle with mine.
For belonging to one another to make any practical sense, the application must be made to our Christian friendships, our Christian families and our Christian marriages. It is in these relationship that we can take care of each other at least as well as we can of our lawnmowers and toaster ovens.
Unless relationships conform to the greater body of commands in the Bible, belonging is hollow. Taking responsibility for one another’s success in God’s kingdom means implementing all of the Togethers at one time or the other.
Belonging is one of the most necessary of human needs. Belonging to an organization such as a church is inferior to belonging to familiar and available people. It is easy to be lonely with just church attendance. That is why God wants us, declares us, to belong to one another in more dedicated relationships. The kind of belonging He has in mind leads to substantive involvement with one another.
Belonging to one another means that we can count on one another when needed. We can use one another to walk the life of faith. We need to be able to take advantage of one another to a reasonable extent. Jesus will ask us both to depend on Christians we belong to in friendship and family as well as to be his servant/slaves when those close to us need our help.
God wants no one left out. Churches and Christians must help those without belonging, or with only a little of it, to make good, loving and reliable Christian friendships. We can only include a few into our own friendship groups, but we can teach less-connected Christians that they need to build strong friendships and then introduce them to other Christians.
Many people long for such belonging because the few relationships they have, if any, are superficial, distant, and untrustworthy. It is our responsibility to give to them biblical belonging. Let’s get going on this.
Everyone needs to be important at a more personal level than can be achieved in church membership. Every Christian needs to be valued by a few Christian friends, as well as family members and spouse.
So keep in mind what is happening in the lives of your closest Christian friends and family. Those in your inner circle belong to you. They are a part of your life. Their hopes, dreams, opportunities and struggles are in God’s view also yours.
Opportunity to Become More and More Like Jesus Christ
For belonging to one another to make any practical sense, the application must be made to our Christian friendships, our Christian families and our Christian marriages. It is in these relationship that we can take care of each other at least as well as we can of our lawnmowers and toaster ovens.
Unless relationships conform to the greater body of commands in the Bible, belonging is hollow. Taking responsibility for one another’s success in God’s kingdom means implementing all of the Togethers at one time or the other.
Belonging is one of the most necessary of human needs. Belonging to an organization such as a church is inferior to belonging to familiar and available people. It is easy to be lonely with just church attendance. That is why God wants us, declares us, to belong to one another in more dedicated relationships. The kind of belonging He has in mind leads to substantive involvement with one another.
Belonging to one another means that we can count on one another when needed. We can use one another to walk the life of faith. We need to be able to take advantage of one another to a reasonable extent. Jesus will ask us both to depend on Christians we belong to in friendship and family as well as to be his servant/slaves when those close to us need our help.
God wants no one left out. Churches and Christians must help those without belonging, or with only a little of it, to make good, loving and reliable Christian friendships. We can only include a few into our own friendship groups, but we can teach less-connected Christians that they need to build strong friendships and then introduce them to other Christians.
Many people long for such belonging because the few relationships they have, if any, are superficial, distant, and untrustworthy. It is our responsibility to give to them biblical belonging. Let’s get going on this.
Everyone needs to be important at a more personal level than can be achieved in church membership. Every Christian needs to be valued by a few Christian friends, as well as family members and spouse.
So keep in mind what is happening in the lives of your closest Christian friends and family. Those in your inner circle belong to you. They are a part of your life. Their hopes, dreams, opportunities and struggles are in God’s view also yours.
Opportunity to Become More and More Like Jesus Christ
Pastor Morris was preparing his sermon when the Holy Spirit revealed how important belonging to one another is to the Christians attending his church. He had always considered that this requirement was met by church membership. However, just an hour before, he met with a disappointed couple who had been attending his church for six months and not made a single friend. Because of that, Pastor Morris concluded that church services and programs were not enough to satisfy the biblical command for belonging.
The sermon Pastor Morris was preparing had to do with placing top priority at becoming more and more like Jesus. He was preaching on the first part of Romans 8:29 which says, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son . . . .” Now, thinking about the left-out couple and his sermon topic, it dawned on him that because Jesus belonged so absolutely to His Father, belonging was a very extensive concept. Pastor Morris then and there decided that he would see that everyone in his church had a sense of belonging – not to an organization like his Baptist church, but belonging to specific Christians they could count on. At the next meeting of church leaders Pastor Morris stated that he wanted no one who came to their church more than four times to be without close friends in the church within 6 months. He explained that this could not happen through church programs like the Supper Six night they had a few months ago. (The disappointed couple had participated in that.) The church leaders were to list those without close connections. Then they were to bring disconnected people together and help them develop brand-new friendship groups where the Togethers were taken seriously. In quite a smart move, the leaders incorporated this goal into the New Members Class. There they taught the importance of the Togethers and asked attendees to get to know one another and find at least two others they could commit to for deeper friendship and service. |
Jesus belonged to the Father. In fact, all three persons of our one God belong to one another. Their belonging to One Another is so integrated that we cannot adequately separate them. Thus, they are not three gods, but three persons making up the one and only God.
Therefore, to become like Jesus, we cannot act like we belong to ourselves!
Therefore, to become like Jesus, we cannot act like we belong to ourselves!
I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
John 17:20-21
that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
John 17:20-21
Jesus wants us to be one in belonging to one another. In doing so, we become like Jesus who is one with his Father.
Because we belong to Jesus he takes responsibility for our welfare and protects us. When we watch out for those Christians we are close to, we become more like Jesus.
Because we belong to Jesus he takes responsibility for our welfare and protects us. When we watch out for those Christians we are close to, we become more like Jesus.
While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe . . . .
John 17:12
John 17:12
Jesus did not act autonomously. He did not forget his Father ever. When we have in the back of our mind those we belong to most – our Christian families, spouse and friends – we are like Jesus. This is something we can get better at.
We can grow in belonging to God and identifying with what He is doing in the world and in those of our inner Christian circles. We can pray that His will be done “on earth as it is in heaven” and so belong to Him in more than mere sentiment. In fact, it goes even further.
We can grow in belonging to God and identifying with what He is doing in the world and in those of our inner Christian circles. We can pray that His will be done “on earth as it is in heaven” and so belong to Him in more than mere sentiment. In fact, it goes even further.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me.
Eph 2:20
but Christ lives in me.
Eph 2:20
As each of us has Jesus living in us and are released from self-centered living, in belonging to one another we become fused together as the body of Christ. And, for each of us this means belonging to our friends and families in very real and practical ways.
At the least, we can remember to pray for those with whom our lives are most entwined. Since what happens in their lives affects our lives in small or large ways, we want to practice remembering the various realities of their lives when we pray for them. Belonging means more than superficial interest and mere good wishes. When we belong to our Christian friends and family, we join into their realities through specific prayer.
Praying for one another is the beginning essential, but from time to time one of the other Togethers of Scripture will be necessary. Belonging to one another calls into action much more love.
Jesus identifies us as his, even as his friends. He takes responsibility for us and has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us. This is our model for belonging to one another. We belong to and take ownership of one another, over time administering the various Togethers as needed with each other. In so doing, we become a little more like Christ.
Opportunity to Worship God
At the least, we can remember to pray for those with whom our lives are most entwined. Since what happens in their lives affects our lives in small or large ways, we want to practice remembering the various realities of their lives when we pray for them. Belonging means more than superficial interest and mere good wishes. When we belong to our Christian friends and family, we join into their realities through specific prayer.
Praying for one another is the beginning essential, but from time to time one of the other Togethers of Scripture will be necessary. Belonging to one another calls into action much more love.
Jesus identifies us as his, even as his friends. He takes responsibility for us and has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us. This is our model for belonging to one another. We belong to and take ownership of one another, over time administering the various Togethers as needed with each other. In so doing, we become a little more like Christ.
Opportunity to Worship God
God looked upon the Jennings family and greatly appreciated their worship in the form of belonging to one another. He found it similar to the integrated belonging of His three personalities of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Jennings family worked hard to keep in mind that since they belonged to one another, they were to help with each other’s success in faith and daily life. This all started when Sarah who was in tenth grade complained to her parents that her friend Julie’s parents had stopped coming to church. Sarah’s friend had mentioned that her parents were looking for a church where they felt they belonged. Sarah’s parents asked if Julie’s parents had joined the church. Yes, they had. Sarah’s parents then asked if Julie’s parents had trouble with the doctrine of the church. They did not. This led to confusion, and the Jennings family studied “belonging” in the Bible. Quite a few discussions led to the discovery that biblical belonging has more to do with deep caring expressed in concern, gentle accountability, and help as necessary. The Jennings family was turned upside down. Up to that point it was a family of individuals generally doing their own thing with minimal involvement with one another. Now weekly family times are set aside just for finding out how each other is doing in faith, in school, in work and in relationships. Between meetings family members are constantly available to one another. It would take a book on the Togethers to tell all of the new ways that family members help one another. And, of course, Sarah’s mother reached out to Julie’s mother. Sarah’s father also talked to church leadership so they could search for a remedy for families like Julie’s. |
We belong to each other and when we act like it, we reflect back to God his very own Trinitarian nature.
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are not autonomous. They need One Another, and work together as The Team of the Universe. If we give up living so autonomously, if we begin to recognize our need for one another, if we work as teams more than individuals, we will reflect to God his own interdependent character.
In this way, belonging to other Christians is worship.
The individualistic culture of contemporary Christianity diminishes our worship of God. We must resist it by letting those Christians we are close to know that we belong to one another and that individuality and privacy can be carried too far.
Belonging to self impedes worship. It is the way of the world, and, unfortunately the way of much church culture. Fortunately, secular and church culture is usually not as strong as family culture, marriage culture, and even friendship culture. In those relationships everyone should be discouraged from being all-out for themselves.
Belonging should be measured by what is possible. We can belong to everyone in our sizeable church, but not much is possible. However, in our Christian friendships, families and marriages, belonging can be significant in the way we identify with and take some responsibility for one another.
Parents wake up in the morning and think, “What do the kids need from me today? Is there a school program to go to? Do I need to pack lunches? Do I need to take anyone anywhere today?”
And, as kids grow older, they should also be trained to not just think of themselves. Other family members may need things from them that day. Perhaps it is a chore like emptying the garbage. Does the person responsible for emptying the garbage know that it is his or her contribution to the family, that others need the garbage taken out? Or perhaps it is that an older sibling belongs to the younger brother who needs friendliness and acceptance to go to school feeling good about himself?
Likewise, husbands and wives normally wake up aware of what the spouse needs from them during the day. Or they should because they belong to each other. Perhaps support and encouragement is needed by one for a difficult meeting at work. Is it given? Is it even thought of? Yes, by God. And if a husband or wife thinks of it and provides some of what is needed, they are worshiping God by acting like Him.
If children are easier for parents to think of because they are dependent and the spouse not as easy because he or she is an adult, friends are even harder to think of when one rises in the morning. All those friends will be thought of and at least prayed for if there is a strong sense that they belong to us and their success in faith and in life are to some extent in our “hands” and need our participation.
Belonging can even exist for a home-bound elderly saint if he or she identifies with Christians he or she knows, as well as persecuted Christians around the world, and prays for them. Hopefully, that same elderly person will be included in the prayers of others and also visited and cared for.
Does God think of all these needs of others? Sure He does. So, obviously, it makes sense to rise early enough to think about the day’s challenges facing everyone in your Christian inner circle. This is superb “belonging” and the kind that so mimics God’s concern for each of us that it is extremely valuable worship.
Keeping in mind that worship is reflecting back to God His own character, just thinking about ourselves is so unlike God that it is anti-worship. Each person of the godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is constantly cognizant of the other two personalities. And all of God is concerned about us and our family and friends.
Let’s be like God and be regularly thinking about those Christians we are closest to and praying for them. Let’s worship more and more by belonging to one another this way.
How Used in Battle to Defeat Evil and Satan
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are not autonomous. They need One Another, and work together as The Team of the Universe. If we give up living so autonomously, if we begin to recognize our need for one another, if we work as teams more than individuals, we will reflect to God his own interdependent character.
In this way, belonging to other Christians is worship.
The individualistic culture of contemporary Christianity diminishes our worship of God. We must resist it by letting those Christians we are close to know that we belong to one another and that individuality and privacy can be carried too far.
Belonging to self impedes worship. It is the way of the world, and, unfortunately the way of much church culture. Fortunately, secular and church culture is usually not as strong as family culture, marriage culture, and even friendship culture. In those relationships everyone should be discouraged from being all-out for themselves.
Belonging should be measured by what is possible. We can belong to everyone in our sizeable church, but not much is possible. However, in our Christian friendships, families and marriages, belonging can be significant in the way we identify with and take some responsibility for one another.
Parents wake up in the morning and think, “What do the kids need from me today? Is there a school program to go to? Do I need to pack lunches? Do I need to take anyone anywhere today?”
And, as kids grow older, they should also be trained to not just think of themselves. Other family members may need things from them that day. Perhaps it is a chore like emptying the garbage. Does the person responsible for emptying the garbage know that it is his or her contribution to the family, that others need the garbage taken out? Or perhaps it is that an older sibling belongs to the younger brother who needs friendliness and acceptance to go to school feeling good about himself?
Likewise, husbands and wives normally wake up aware of what the spouse needs from them during the day. Or they should because they belong to each other. Perhaps support and encouragement is needed by one for a difficult meeting at work. Is it given? Is it even thought of? Yes, by God. And if a husband or wife thinks of it and provides some of what is needed, they are worshiping God by acting like Him.
If children are easier for parents to think of because they are dependent and the spouse not as easy because he or she is an adult, friends are even harder to think of when one rises in the morning. All those friends will be thought of and at least prayed for if there is a strong sense that they belong to us and their success in faith and in life are to some extent in our “hands” and need our participation.
Belonging can even exist for a home-bound elderly saint if he or she identifies with Christians he or she knows, as well as persecuted Christians around the world, and prays for them. Hopefully, that same elderly person will be included in the prayers of others and also visited and cared for.
Does God think of all these needs of others? Sure He does. So, obviously, it makes sense to rise early enough to think about the day’s challenges facing everyone in your Christian inner circle. This is superb “belonging” and the kind that so mimics God’s concern for each of us that it is extremely valuable worship.
Keeping in mind that worship is reflecting back to God His own character, just thinking about ourselves is so unlike God that it is anti-worship. Each person of the godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is constantly cognizant of the other two personalities. And all of God is concerned about us and our family and friends.
Let’s be like God and be regularly thinking about those Christians we are closest to and praying for them. Let’s worship more and more by belonging to one another this way.
How Used in Battle to Defeat Evil and Satan
Woody was the nickname given him by his father who considered him a blockhead. When a child, home was not a place where you felt others were on your side. Woody’s family was full of disrespectful remarks and hurtful competition. Woody carried a low self-esteem into adult life.
A friend at work brought Woody to God when he was in his 20's. Jesus became his Savior and a new life opened up for him. All of a sudden he had Christian friends who liked him, believed in him and affirmed him. But they noticed that Woody disbelieved their compliments and had trouble relaxing around them. His friends recognized that Woody was missing out on the benefits of belonging to them, a gift granted him by God. They decided to have an intervention of sorts. They planned a camping trip. Confined to the closeness of a campfire at night, Woody’s friends first taught him that the Bible says God who owns them all declares they must belong to one another. They proceeded in the next two hours to prove that they were safe and wanted Woody to realize how much they valued him. Realizing that it would take time helping Woody finally see that he has the family God always wanted for him, these friends are still at work. They will continue until all traces of the damage done by his family of origin have disappeared. They consider belonging to one another to be a life-long commitment, even continued in heaven. Like Jesus who came to “destroy the works of the devil”, Woody’s friends are defeating Satan. |
This attitudinal Together, if adopted, fights against Satan’s primary strategy to divide us and then offer things God does not want for us.
Since corporate worship and obedience is so important to God, we need to pay particular attention to the fact that we belong to one another in God’s eyes. As already pointed out, if some thing belongs to us, we are responsible for it. The same is true if “someone” belongs to us.
In Joshua, Chapter 7, we read of an incident in the history of Israel that should frighten us into taking seriously our responsibility for one another, especially to see that God is obeyed.
Since corporate worship and obedience is so important to God, we need to pay particular attention to the fact that we belong to one another in God’s eyes. As already pointed out, if some thing belongs to us, we are responsible for it. The same is true if “someone” belongs to us.
In Joshua, Chapter 7, we read of an incident in the history of Israel that should frighten us into taking seriously our responsibility for one another, especially to see that God is obeyed.
But keep away from the devoted things,
so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them.
Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.
All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are
sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”
Joshua 6:18-19
so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them.
Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.
All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are
sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”
Joshua 6:18-19
A man named Achan stole some of the forbidden plunder from the conquest of Jericho and secretly hid it under the ground in his tent. As a result, 36 soldiers died and Israel lost a battle to a very small city. When Joshua went before the Lord, he learned something to which we Christians must pay careful attention. Look at what God told Joshua.
Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant,
which I commanded them to keep.
They have taken some of the devoted things;
they have stolen, they have lied,
they have put them with their own possessions.
Joshua 7:11
which I commanded them to keep.
They have taken some of the devoted things;
they have stolen, they have lied,
they have put them with their own possessions.
Joshua 7:11
The whole nation had sinned. That is the way God sees us – collectively. One person’s sin is the responsibility of us all. In this case, because of Achan, 36 children lost their fathers and 36 mothers lost their sons.
Yet, there is a greater responsibility for those to whom we are closest. Look what happened to Achan’s family.
Yet, there is a greater responsibility for those to whom we are closest. Look what happened to Achan’s family.
Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah,
the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters,
his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.
Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us?
The Lord will bring trouble on you today.”
Then all Israel stoned him,
and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them.
Joshua 7:24-25
the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters,
his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.
Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us?
The Lord will bring trouble on you today.”
Then all Israel stoned him,
and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them.
Joshua 7:24-25
This lesson from history teaches us how dangerous it is to pretend that those we are close to are not our responsibility. It is much safer to accept that we do belong to one another, especially those Christians in our inner circles.
Satan will attack us, usually focusing on individuals. A friendship group, family or marriage that stays aware that they belong to one another will keep alert to be responsible for the faith of the others. It is the sense of belonging that keeps Christians alert to implement the applicable Togethers that defeat the devil’s many temptations and attacks.
How in the Sinful Environment this Together Prepares Us for Heaven
Satan will attack us, usually focusing on individuals. A friendship group, family or marriage that stays aware that they belong to one another will keep alert to be responsible for the faith of the others. It is the sense of belonging that keeps Christians alert to implement the applicable Togethers that defeat the devil’s many temptations and attacks.
How in the Sinful Environment this Together Prepares Us for Heaven
Marty and Joan have been married for 48 years, ever since they graduated college. They have been staunch Christians, very active in Christian service in their church and in a few parachurch ministries. But, now that their energy levels are fading due to age and poor health, they have begun looking more toward heaven.
Marty and Joan considered that they had not spent much time thinking about life after death and decided it was high time to start. They realized that they have been very busy for the Lord for years and have prepared in many ways to be useful in heaven. But, they realized that it was now time to focus more on being like Jesus. So, Marty and Joan decided to start by valuing belonging more because they imagined how exciting it will be in heaven to belong to so many varied people. Then they noticed that there were Christians who did not really belong to other Christians in the sense that they had people deeply interested in them. So, they decided to help people belong. First they invited to dinner a widow in their church who had too few people approaching her before or after church services. The next week they invited a middle-aged couple in their neighborhood who did not have a church family but occasionally made statements of faith. Before long, Marty and Joan had used the Together of Hospitality to make friends with ten isolated people. It was now time for Phase Two. Joan planned a game night and invited all ten people. Marty got the games ready. Everyone enjoyed the time together. At the end of the evening, Marty and Joan gave a devotional on how Christians needed to belong to a few Christians in the sense of knowing they were friends who cared and became committed to one another. Then they announced another game night for the next month. After four months of game nights, Marty and Joan asked if people would be willing to be closer friends than just the game nights. They explained that heaven will be much more enjoyable from the very start if people had some experience of belonging to a tight-knit group of Christian friends. They explained that they already had a group of friends that helped each other live for Jesus and asked who would be willing to form their own group out of the people attending the game nights. They would then call a meeting of those interested for the purpose of helping them plan how to develop a sense of belonging among them. |
In heaven where sin does not exist, we will still belong to one another as citizens of heaven. We will not cease to be the body of Christ or the family of God. Forget those silly images of being like angels floating on clouds. In heaven we will belong to one another in ways incomprehensible now.
When we are perfected in heaven, what makes us think that we will not need each other? Belonging now must do all it can to eliminate the self-focus that comes from individualistic society. The more ground we gain here and now in leaving behind the selfishness of the old self and adopting the kingdom-focus of the new self, the more we will be ready for heaven.
Imagine ignoring all the Bible says about looking out for one another through all of the Togethers and going to heaven with a small, stunted new self. You will not be selfish – the old self which made up so much of your personality will be left behind. But, you will have a lot of learning to do. You will not have the innate ability to think of others very much. To fit into heavenly society, that will have to change.
So, why not do it now? What will you really gain by belonging primarily to yourself?
When we are perfected in heaven, what makes us think that we will not need each other? Belonging now must do all it can to eliminate the self-focus that comes from individualistic society. The more ground we gain here and now in leaving behind the selfishness of the old self and adopting the kingdom-focus of the new self, the more we will be ready for heaven.
Imagine ignoring all the Bible says about looking out for one another through all of the Togethers and going to heaven with a small, stunted new self. You will not be selfish – the old self which made up so much of your personality will be left behind. But, you will have a lot of learning to do. You will not have the innate ability to think of others very much. To fit into heavenly society, that will have to change.
So, why not do it now? What will you really gain by belonging primarily to yourself?
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world,
and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
Luke 9:25
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said,
“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
Mark 9:35
and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
Luke 9:25
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said,
“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
Mark 9:35
Work hard now to at least daily consider seriously each of your Christian family members, your spouse, and your friends as well as people important to them. Then pray. If the Lord asks you to do more, get into action. Be fully assembled and wired when you get to heaven to belong to others, to identify with them in their marvelous experiences, and to be involved in helping make heaven all that it can be for them.
Let’s make it really good in heaven for one another.
How this Together Can Make it Really Good in Heaven
Let’s make it really good in heaven for one another.
How this Together Can Make it Really Good in Heaven
Novella never enjoyed relationships like she does now in heaven. She wasn’t a Christian long before dying of cancer in her 40's. But in those few years before entering heaven she began to experience a belonging to others that she had never imagined. Her husband and kids were special to her, and when she was diagnosed, she hurt all over that she would not see her kids grow up or her husband progress in his job. They loved her and belonged to her, but there was a special way she belonged when she was with Christians. Unfortunately, her kids and husband have not yet become new creatures in Christ.
When Novella became a Christian just about a year before coming down with cancer, she began attending a church with her friend whom God used to bring Novella to Himself. This friend was a rather new Christian herself and so the two of them joined a small group together. The church was smart enough not to disrupt membership in small groups and allowed the same people to stay together as long as they wanted. This allowed relationships to grow over time. (Unfortunately, most churches inhibit growing relationships by asking small groups to end and start up again with a new mix of people.) By the time Novella started feeling sick, the people in her small group had become dedicated to one another and prayed fervently that she would recover. Then came the terminal diagnosis. In the toughest period of her life, her friends in the small group confirmed that Novella belonged to them to care for. They stepped in whenever Novella’s family was overwhelmed. Now Novella is in heaven and she knows from her short earthly Christian experience that terrific belonging is available to her in heaven. She is eagerly diving into relationships without any hesitation. She tasted the joys of belonging and she wants more! |
Something that is very hard for us to imagine on this side of heaven’s doorway is the feeling of consistently belonging. Everywhere we go in heaven, we will belong. The extent to which we perceive the closeness of belonging with all the people from many cultures across many centuries will be determined by how we experienced belonging before death.
Think about going to your own daughter’s wedding as compared to going to a wedding of someone you hardly know. At the first, you feel like you truly belong. At the stranger’s wedding you feel much more distant. At the first you belong to the wedding party. At the second, you are a guest.
In heaven we will belong to everyone everywhere . But will we experience it to its fullness? We probably have been to events where we felt out of place, even though others felt we belonged there as much as anyone. How we work out feeling like we belong here and now will affect our sensitivity to belonging in heaven.
Everyone will consider you a part of their heavenly family. There will be no favorites making your belonging only partial. And whenever you need something, there will be someone there feeling extremely privileged to help you. Everyone will add to everyone’s joy in heaven. But the magnitude of our perception of belonging, of being wanted, of others’ joy at our presence will vary for each of us as we have accepted our status of belonging in Christian relationships now. Do we enjoy being wanted in relationships and their activities now? If not, focus attention on when others are enjoying you.
Some people have a jump start on experiencing belonging. Those who come from wonderful families desire vacations with family. Those of us who came out of painful families would rather not be with family on vacation. But in heaven we will have no sin making relationships painful. We will grow in our ability to enjoy being with those to whom we belong.
It makes no sense to wait until heaven to get started learning to enjoy belonging to others. Those of us who could not trust our parents and siblings to relate to us lovingly need to concentrate on acquiring appreciation of belonging. We need to surround ourselves with other Christians who understand belonging. It might be hard, but God has given us new creatures in Christ to belong to and learn to trust.
When we Christians take this truth that we belong to one another to heart, we will create close, intimate relationships where trust and safety in belonging can grow. We want to grow to desire more to be with those in our inner circles. Not to just “do” things with them, but just to “be” with them.
Then in heaven we will be able to confidently enter every venue knowing that we belong there and that the people there will feel we belong with them. Imagine going anywhere and not at all feeling like a stranger.
Let’s look forward to that in heaven. It’s coming.
Opportunity for a Closer Relationship with God through Empathy
Think about going to your own daughter’s wedding as compared to going to a wedding of someone you hardly know. At the first, you feel like you truly belong. At the stranger’s wedding you feel much more distant. At the first you belong to the wedding party. At the second, you are a guest.
In heaven we will belong to everyone everywhere . But will we experience it to its fullness? We probably have been to events where we felt out of place, even though others felt we belonged there as much as anyone. How we work out feeling like we belong here and now will affect our sensitivity to belonging in heaven.
Everyone will consider you a part of their heavenly family. There will be no favorites making your belonging only partial. And whenever you need something, there will be someone there feeling extremely privileged to help you. Everyone will add to everyone’s joy in heaven. But the magnitude of our perception of belonging, of being wanted, of others’ joy at our presence will vary for each of us as we have accepted our status of belonging in Christian relationships now. Do we enjoy being wanted in relationships and their activities now? If not, focus attention on when others are enjoying you.
Some people have a jump start on experiencing belonging. Those who come from wonderful families desire vacations with family. Those of us who came out of painful families would rather not be with family on vacation. But in heaven we will have no sin making relationships painful. We will grow in our ability to enjoy being with those to whom we belong.
It makes no sense to wait until heaven to get started learning to enjoy belonging to others. Those of us who could not trust our parents and siblings to relate to us lovingly need to concentrate on acquiring appreciation of belonging. We need to surround ourselves with other Christians who understand belonging. It might be hard, but God has given us new creatures in Christ to belong to and learn to trust.
When we Christians take this truth that we belong to one another to heart, we will create close, intimate relationships where trust and safety in belonging can grow. We want to grow to desire more to be with those in our inner circles. Not to just “do” things with them, but just to “be” with them.
Then in heaven we will be able to confidently enter every venue knowing that we belong there and that the people there will feel we belong with them. Imagine going anywhere and not at all feeling like a stranger.
Let’s look forward to that in heaven. It’s coming.
Opportunity for a Closer Relationship with God through Empathy
In heaven Chris, Alcia, Donovan, and Doris are exhausted after a long day of hiking in beauty that can hardly be described. The fire in the fireplace is blazing while they sit quietly, each one remembering the wonders of heaven experienced today. They occasionally glance at one another and experience a rush of pure happiness that they have each other’s friendship and a sense of belonging together and to one another. They are so glad that their relationship survived death and continued here in heaven.
The fire crackles and blazes up as pitch inside a log ignites. The same thing enters all of their minds. They all confirm that God has just spoken and said He is thrilled that they have a taste of the happiness in their relationship that He has from the relationship of his three personalities of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. |
There is a joy in belonging to close friends and relatives. Christians who more fully implement belonging to other Christians will find a joy that approximates God’s joy in the belonging of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to each other.
Just think, if you are a parent, what great joy you have when you observe your children enjoying closeness with their siblings or friends. Even though you are not involved, your heart is warmed more than if you were a part of it. Some who have heightened sensitivity to the joy of belonging to others in the environment of sin now will most likely better comprehend in heaven for all eternity God’s joy in the inseparable belonging of His three persons. This will bring a special closeness with God who will know that we are there with Him in his joy.
Praise & Prayer Regarding this Together
Holy God to Whom I belong. I praise You that You purchased me with the blood of Your own dear Son. I would not want to belong to anyone else, not even myself.
Lord, you declare that I belong to other Christians, all of them. Help me to be especially aware of my responsibility of belonging to those within my very own circle of Christian friends, spouse and family. And help me to remember those Christian acquaintances who have a special need as well as Christians around the world who are being persecuted.
Father, please help those in my inner circle to remember I belong to them. Help them pray for me and the circumstances of my life. And for my family.
Bless all of them with a secure knowledge that they belong to me and to those in their own Christian Inner Circles. Help them feel very loved.
I and those in my Christian Inner Circle will need Your help to grow our spirits to belong to one another in significant ways, far beyond friendliness and deep into sacrificial love and helpfulness. Empower us to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit for all of us to give You more glory in the way we watch out for one another and feel responsible for one another’s spiritual, emotional, physical, and relational well being.
Please help us all to become more like Jesus and, like Him, to be exceptionally interested in the daily lives of those in our Christian Inner Circles, knowing what they are going through, caring deeply, and praying for them. Bring them to our minds every day and increase our sense of belonging to them and they to us.
May our lives worship You more through the depth of our belonging to one another, approaching a little more the complete belonging of Your three personalities of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Make us strong in Your power to defeat the devil by so strongly belonging to one another that Satan cannot divide us and make us more susceptible to his evil temptations. Constantly urge us, Lord, to take seriously our responsibility for one another, especially within spiritual reality.
Help us all to prepare for heaven by growing more completely in our sense of belonging to one another so that when we arrive in heaven we will naturally feel our belonging with and to all the other citizens of heaven. I know that everywhere I go in heaven, I will belong. I want to prepare now to feel the joy of belonging, of not being so autonomous, or allowing myself to feel accepted and loved for who I am in Christ.
Ever increasing practice of the Togethers of Scripture will (1) create in you the loving essence of Jesus, (2) give Jesus the kind of love He requested, (3) provide you with the most significant spiritual lifestyle which is attainable only through Christian community, (4) offer significant worship to God by reflecting his own character back to him through your behavior, and (5) bring God’s kingdom to earth as asked for in the Lord’s Prayer. And for heaven, such growing obedience to Scripture now will later (6) qualify you for a more responsible place of service as reward in heaven, and, (7) most important of all, give you greater empathy with God for a closer relationship with Him for all of eternity.
Just think, if you are a parent, what great joy you have when you observe your children enjoying closeness with their siblings or friends. Even though you are not involved, your heart is warmed more than if you were a part of it. Some who have heightened sensitivity to the joy of belonging to others in the environment of sin now will most likely better comprehend in heaven for all eternity God’s joy in the inseparable belonging of His three persons. This will bring a special closeness with God who will know that we are there with Him in his joy.
Praise & Prayer Regarding this Together
Holy God to Whom I belong. I praise You that You purchased me with the blood of Your own dear Son. I would not want to belong to anyone else, not even myself.
Lord, you declare that I belong to other Christians, all of them. Help me to be especially aware of my responsibility of belonging to those within my very own circle of Christian friends, spouse and family. And help me to remember those Christian acquaintances who have a special need as well as Christians around the world who are being persecuted.
Father, please help those in my inner circle to remember I belong to them. Help them pray for me and the circumstances of my life. And for my family.
Bless all of them with a secure knowledge that they belong to me and to those in their own Christian Inner Circles. Help them feel very loved.
I and those in my Christian Inner Circle will need Your help to grow our spirits to belong to one another in significant ways, far beyond friendliness and deep into sacrificial love and helpfulness. Empower us to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit for all of us to give You more glory in the way we watch out for one another and feel responsible for one another’s spiritual, emotional, physical, and relational well being.
Please help us all to become more like Jesus and, like Him, to be exceptionally interested in the daily lives of those in our Christian Inner Circles, knowing what they are going through, caring deeply, and praying for them. Bring them to our minds every day and increase our sense of belonging to them and they to us.
May our lives worship You more through the depth of our belonging to one another, approaching a little more the complete belonging of Your three personalities of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Make us strong in Your power to defeat the devil by so strongly belonging to one another that Satan cannot divide us and make us more susceptible to his evil temptations. Constantly urge us, Lord, to take seriously our responsibility for one another, especially within spiritual reality.
Help us all to prepare for heaven by growing more completely in our sense of belonging to one another so that when we arrive in heaven we will naturally feel our belonging with and to all the other citizens of heaven. I know that everywhere I go in heaven, I will belong. I want to prepare now to feel the joy of belonging, of not being so autonomous, or allowing myself to feel accepted and loved for who I am in Christ.
Ever increasing practice of the Togethers of Scripture will (1) create in you the loving essence of Jesus, (2) give Jesus the kind of love He requested, (3) provide you with the most significant spiritual lifestyle which is attainable only through Christian community, (4) offer significant worship to God by reflecting his own character back to him through your behavior, and (5) bring God’s kingdom to earth as asked for in the Lord’s Prayer. And for heaven, such growing obedience to Scripture now will later (6) qualify you for a more responsible place of service as reward in heaven, and, (7) most important of all, give you greater empathy with God for a closer relationship with Him for all of eternity.