June 20

“To yield to God means to belong to God, and to belong to God means to have all his infinite power and infinite love on our side....God always delivers those who, regardless of circumstances or seemings, yield themselves up to His keeping.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, God is Enough, 6/20

So I ask myself, why wouldn’t I want to belong to God?  I guess it’s the same thing when our teenagers act like they don’t want to belong to their families.  They really do, but on their terms.  It’s only once they’ve left home and perhaps even had children of their own that they begin to appreciate their parents.  But even then they don’t like for Mom or Dad to tell them how to run their lives--unless they’ve asked for advice.  It’s the same with God and us.  But it doesn’t have to be.  It’s natural and healthy for children to detach from their parents.  It’s a part of growing up and becoming independent.  But it’s not natural when it comes to God.  We were never meant to be independent of God, but at the same time God gave us free will because He’d already created angels who would do his bidding.  He wanted a relationship with His creation and that could only be achieved by giving us the ability to say no.  But just because we CAN say no doesn’t mean we should.  When will we get that straight?  It’s really sad when you look at our world and see so much suffering.  Lord, may we wake up and realize what belonging to You really means.

“Likewise, my brethren, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God.”  Romans 7:4