Belonging

Belonging

The Lord who made you and helps you says: “Do not be afraid . . . my chosen one” (V.2 NLT).

Isaiah 44:1-5

Reading

I’d been out late the night before, just as I was every Saturday night. I was in my late-teens and I was running from God as fast as I could. But suddenly, strangely, I felt I should go to the church my dad worked for.

I don’t remember the talk Dad gave that day, but I can’t forget how pleased he was to see me. With his arm over my shoulder, he introduced me to everyone. “This is my son!” he said happily. That day, his joy and welcome was a picture of God’s love. And it has stuck with me ever since.

The picture of God as a loving, welcoming Father is everywhere in the Bible. In Isaiah 44 a group of warnings are interrupted to share God’s message of family love: “O dear Israel, my chosen one . . . I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children” (VV.2-3 NLT). In response, “Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the Lord,’ ” he wrote. “Some will write the Lord’s name on their hands” (V.5 NLT).

Even though they often got things wrong, the people of Israel belonged to God, just as I belong to my dad. Nothing I could do would ever make him stop loving me. He gave me a picture of our heavenly Father’s love for us.

What I’m thankful for..

No matter what our families on earth are like, thank You, Father, for showing us what real love looks like in Jesus.

GOD LOVES US ENOUGH TO GIVE US A FAMILY TO BELONG TO FOREVER.

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries