Belonging

How do you feel about belonging, whether it be to a family, an organisation, a church or even by a group of friends?

As a child, I was fostered, but never adopted into the family, leaving me an individual name, which oftentimes I used to my advantage, and other times I would ‘adopt’ the foster family name in order to try and fit in with my peers. As a result it gave me an interest in the genealogy of my family to find out where I came from.

To the Jews, their heritage is rooted in God; they know from where they've come. Not so the gentiles.

But Jesus changes all of that. As a result of his life, death and resurrection, he has adopted us. No longer fostered, but adopted. No longer fitting in, but belonging. There is no greater belonging than to God and to have Jesus as our heritage.

As adoptees we have a heritage that is as much rooted in the Old Testament as in the New, so don't neglect to read the whole of the Bible and understand the wholeness of God through time, and the fullness of what it means to be part of his family.

Loving God, I thank you for your gift of life, given through Jesus and his sacrifice. Help me understand more fully what it means to be adopted by you in order that you may be glorified as others see how my life is transformed by your grace and the experience of your unconditional love for your children.

Amen.

Today’s contributor is Mary Walsh, a solicitor and editor with an MA in Biblical and Pastoral Theology, and who co-leads a church in Radcliffe, Manchester.