“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” (Ephesians 2:19 TLB).
Why is belonging so important?
“Because as humans, we need to belong. To one another, to our friends and families, to our culture and country, to our world. Belonging is primal, fundamental to our sense of happiness and well-being” (CNN Columnist Amanda Enayati, The Importance of Belonging )
In his “Hierarchy of Needs,” the atheist psychologist, Abraham Maslow, got at least one thing right. He named “belonging” as one of the most basic needs of humanity. Only physiological and safrty needs such ad food, water, air, and shelter were higher on his scale of needd. Maslow thought that the need for belonging had to be met before one could have self-esteem and what he called “self-actualization.”
Maslow’s psychological theory recognized what others had claimed for centuries, that humans have an innate need for belonging. Yet, this awareness of the need does not explain its origin. From where does our need for belonging come?
Augustine of Hippo, (Third Century) said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God, a
nd our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” Augustine believed that God made us with this desire for connection.
Before Augustine, Jesus prayed that this divine connection would be restored, not just between man and God, but also between believers.
Jesus prayed, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they
may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity” (John 17:20-23 NIV).
Christ’s prayer is being answered. When we believe in Him and are adopted into God’s family.
Yet, the three enemies of this oneness remain active. The flesh, the world and the devil, all continue to work to divide and isolate us from God and His family
Their voices are loud. They scream of hatred and racism. They point out our differences and the hypocrisies of others. They urge us to get even and never forgive. They push us to pull awa
Jesus calls us to Belong to one another!!y, to abandon, to divorce, and even to kill.
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Comments
We are better together and must listen and trust in God for all things in life. He will give us our needs because of his unconditional love for us. The scripture you share below is a message from God that he sent through Jesus.
Jesus prayed, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they
may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity” Thank you for publishing this post in the SE community. I look forward to seeing your next post and will continue to read them. Have a blessed life Stephen, this is God's will for us.
Thanks enjoyed your post. Yes to belong certainly is important, happiness breeds more of the same!