God’s
Family: A Forever Place to Belong
A devotional by Alexis A. Goring
We all want to belong.
Sororities and fraternities are a big deal for college
students in the United States of America. There’s a whole, grueling, sometimes embarrassing
process that young men and women go through just to belong to one.
People go to great lengths and do all sorts of things (good
and bad) just to get in because they want to belong to a support system that’s like
family consisting of their peers.
But what they fail to realize is that they are already
invited to be part of God’s Family where they truly belong and are loved
unconditionally.
Best of all, God’s Family is for life not only on this Earth but forever.
Beth Moore, a famous Bible teacher and writer, said something
in her book Breaking Free that
resonates with me. She wrote,
“God is not only the answer to a thousand needs, He is the answer to a thousand wants. He is the fulfillment of our chief desire in all of life. For whether or not we’ve ever recognized it, what we desire is unfailing love.”
Unfailing love can only come from the heart of God. Not
sororities. Not fraternities. Not gangs. Not high school cliques. Not
memberships to prestigious organizations.
Only God.
I love the song “Your Love Never Fails” by Jesus Culture.
It’s about how God’s love never fails or gives up on us. He is our Creator,
Lord, Savior, Redeemer and truest Best Friend. He loves us with all of His
divine heart and He wants us to love Him too. But He will never make us love Him because He wants us to
love Him out of the free will that He
gave us, not because we’re scared of going to hell or have ulterior motives
about making it into Heaven.
God is love. He
embodies the word and His love for His creation is present in nature all around
this world! He is our Heavenly Father and when we accept His Son Jesus Christ
into our lives, we become a permanent part of His forever family!
The best part is that we don’t have to do anything drastic to
belong to God’s Family. We just have to trust Him, believe in Him and accept
the free gift of salvation that He
offers humankind through His Son Jesus Christ. According to John 1:12 (ESV), this
is how we become part of God’s family after we accept Jesus Christ into our
hearts: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the
right to become children of God.”
It’s simple. No strings attached. Only hope eternal knowing
that when our life here on Earth ends that we have the promise of spending
eternity with Him when Jesus Christ returns to Earth again to take His faithful
followers to Heaven.
God’s Family is global. When you join His forever family, you
gain brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world. Just think how grand
our big, diverse family reunion with our brothers and sisters in Christ, will
be when we make it to Heaven!
Belonging to God’s Family is something we should all seek
before seeking acceptance from any social or prestigious organization here on
Earth. Remember, your worth does not come from what your fellow man thinks of
you. Your worth comes from God! Focus on what He says about you. Believe what He
knows is true about you. Let Him be
your mirror. Listen to His Truth. Don’t allow what mankind says to define you,
good or bad. Let your sense of self ... your core identity ... come from God! He
thinks you’re amazing because He made you. As one of His children, you are
loved!
Yes, I know that as mortals, even when we have the Creator of
the Universe lavishing His divine love upon us, we still may want to seek
acceptance from sororities, fraternities or other prestigious organizations
that are safe (gangs and cliques are
NOT safe). I’m not saying to not seek after those things. I’m just saying to keep
God as your primary focus and seek Him first.
Find out what He wants you to do and
ask Him for wisdom to make good decisions that will help you, not hurt you. Also,
as you journey through life, remember who
you are (your identity as a follower of Jesus Christ) and whose you are (you belong to God) and refuse to let the opinions of
people deter you from remaining a part of God’s Family.
In closing, I’d like to share a prayer from Beth Moore about
unfailing love that is from her book, Breaking
Free. She wrote,
“Oh, God, awake our souls to see—You are what we want, not just what we need. Yes, our life’s protection, but also our heart’s affection. Yes, our soul’s salvation, but also our heart’s exhilaration. Unfailing love. A love that will not let me go!”
God’s Love for you will never let you go. Stay close to Him
and allow Him to direct your destiny. Remember, you are loved and part of His family!
Author Bio: Alexis A. Goring is a passionate writer with a degree in Print Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing. She loves the art of storytelling and hopes that her stories will connect readers with the enduring, forever love of Jesus Christ.
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