Day #18: Thursday, January 21st

No Longer an Outsider

Scripture References: Eph. 2:19, Rom. 12:4-5

Devotional

Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.” (Eph. 2:19 LB)

Wrap your head around this truth that God did not call you just to believe but rather to BELONG.  Even in the perfect and sinless environment of Eden, God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.”  (Gen. 2:18). We are created for community, fashioned for fellowship, formed for a family, and none of us can fulfill God’s purposes by ourselves.  While your relationship to Christ is personal, God never intended for it to be private.  In fact, we belong to each other for eternity. ​

​So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Rom 12:5 NIV) 

We are members of His body but the true meaning of this is muddied by our society’s view of membership.  We are members of clubs and mailing lists while Paul speaks of being a “member” like a vital organ of a living body - an indispensable, interconnected part of the Body of Christ.  The church is a body, not a building.  We are a living organism, not an organization.  

For the organs of the body to fulfill their purpose, they must be connected to your body.   It is the same with Christ’s body.  You and I were created for a specific role, but you will miss that purpose for your life if you’re not attached to a living, local church.  Rom. 12:4-5 MSG says,

….we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around…. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body…. Let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without …comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.”

The church, locally and universally, is God’s agenda for the world.  Jesus said, “I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matt 16:18 NLT).  His Body is indestructible and will exist for eternity, as will your role in it.  Determine to find your place of belonging and embrace being an insider rather than an outsider. 

Prayer

Lord, thank you for giving me a place to belong.
Help me to see that I belong to my brothers and sisters in Christ for eternity.
My life has meaning as I find my place and function in the Body of Christ.
I will be what I was made to be without comparing myself to others.
Thank you for making me an insider.