Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them (Exodus 3:7-8a)
What does it mean to “belong?” We are used to the word “belonging” being a term for commerce. We want something, exchange money for goods and say, “this is mine.” But this word has deeper meaning when applied to relationships. When we say that someone “belongs,” in a relationship or community, we should not think that that person is “owned” by another. Rather, they belong because they are loved and welcomed and respected. Healthy relationships always start with the decision to nurture a sense of belonging.
When it comes to our relationship with God, I have been captivated by a simple statement I heard years ago: “You belong before you believe.” In other words, before we choose God, God has chosen to love, welcome, and honor us. God is the means of belonging. God loved us first, and all love expressed in community is secondary – “We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).” This is not a predetermined selection of a few individuals, but a decision made first by God to lay claim over all creation and call for us to participate in renewal.
One of the best examples of this is in Exodus. This is the book where God liberates the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and brings them into a new covenant so that, “They will be my people and I will be their God (Ex. 6:7).” What is amazing is that, long before they make this covenant, establish laws and commitments to follow, God claims that these slaves are, “My people.” God tells Moses, “I have heard their cries, seen their hardship, and come to save my people!” Before they were set free, they belonged. For them to participate in salvation, they needed to trust in God, follow, and obey God in the structures of this relationship. But before they ever did that, God said of them, you belong to me.
Therefore, Christian faith is more of a relationship and than a purchase. Belonging to God is not something we earn or can pay back. This faith is only “costly” because Christ died for us and for salvation and to follow him is not to be taken lightly or for granted. However, this salvation, like love, is given freely! While we were still sinners, bound in slavery to our transgressions and bend toward destruction, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). When we trust in this truth, we live into our belonging and in turn show the same welcoming and honoring love as the God who set us free. Faith is not something we own, but a relationship we participate in; a relationship begun by a God who heard our cry in the midst of slavery to sin and said of us, “My people.”