“My beloved is mine, and I am his.” Song of Solomon 2:16
“Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you.” 1 Kings 8:27
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.” Psalm 8:3-5
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” John 10:27-28
There is a great and glorious knowing as a Christian that the Lord and I belong to each other. Intimacy. Security. Mutual love. Permanence. Unbreakable covenant. Eternal I do. By grace I’ve been pursued and wooed, spoken for and taken and forgiven, adopted into an everlasting family. I’m now in Christ, and He is in me by His Spirit, my seal and guarantee of present sanctification, forever union, and heavenly glory. (Romans 8:15,29-30; Ephesians 1:13-14)
But we are not equals. Mutual belonging has been made possible only by inequality of substance, nature, and will. This One who is like none other, infinite in every perfect attribute, whose glory is above the heavens, has condescended to make me His own. Savior equals not slave, Spirit equals not flesh, righteous equals not sinner, Redeemer equals not enemy. Who God is loves and redeems who we are unto glorious union. (Psalm 86:8; 113:4; Romans 5:10; Galatians 5:1; Ephesians 2:1-8; Philippians 2:5-8)
So why do we keep playing god, allowing ability or accomplishment or success inflate our egos? The less focus on Him, the more puffed up our view of self. Gaze at the Holy One, high and lifted up, to be undone, astounded by His amazing grace. From the vantage point of humble servant to Master, we understand the infinite measure of His love and favor toward us. This is the love- of forever belonging- we must cherish an exhibit in return. (Isaiah 6:1–5; Ephesians 3:17-19)
Daily life as a child of the King is exciting and bears great responsibility. Do others recognize our Father’s eyes in the way we wisely perceive present culture, or look compassionately into hungry souls? How might our mannerisms, and choices, and interactions reflect the grace and practices of God Almighty?
The hope of every Christian is that one day, when we see Jesus face to face, we will be like Him. Alleluia! (1 Corinthians 15:49; 1 John 3:2)
“O worship the King all-glorious above,
O gratefully sing his power and his love:
our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.
Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
in you do we trust, nor find you to fail.
Your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,
our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!” ~Robert Grant (1833)
Father God, may I live as a reflection of You, so all I encounter recognize that I am Yours and You are mine, to the praise of Your grace and glory.
As the rain and snow 