I Belong!

Yesterday, the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism suddenly came to my mind.  It was an unexpected moment of inspiration.  The Spirit spoke.  The day was nearing its end.  A lot had been accomplished, but a lot still remained undone.  It is often hard for me to close the door and walk away.  Just one more email, one more letter, one more phone call, one more . . . and then one more . . . and then one more.  The endless pattern is addictive.  The catechism's piercing question is this, "What is your only comfort in life and in death?"  That question brings focus to a life filled with too many distractions and obligations, too much guilt and worry.

And the answer creates a great calm, an antidote to the addiction of my endless busyness:  "That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ."  This is grace!  I belong to Jesus Christ because God in Christ has claimed me even before I was aware of it.  God has named me.  Those baptismal waters are alive with God's embracing love.  I belong--no matter what I may do or where I may go.  My work is important but not ultimately so.  Belonging to Jesus Christ is the foundational relationship that shapes all the others.  I belong!

So, in those seasons when life is filled to overflowing, may you also ponder this question and take its answer to heart.  There is joy and peace in belonging.  Through all we have already experienced and through all that is yet to come, "I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ."

Thanks be to God!