1 John 3:1
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

One of the people I most enjoy corresponding with is my dear Great-Aunt Edithe. She is 90 years young and regularly sends me emails (yes, emails!) of encouragement (which is another post in itself!). This past summer she moved to Michigan to be closer to her daughter. In an email in which she mentioned her move she said, “Every time I felt overwhelmed God was there to strengthen me. Isn’t it a privilege to belong to the Lord?”

…Isn’t it a privilege to belong to the Lord? Those words shot through me like an arrow. I sat staring at them for what seemed like minutes; I couldn’t get them out of my head as I went on with my day. I pictured my sweet Aunt who had spoken them. Yes, yes it is a privilege to belong to the Lord…really life’s greatest privilege…and yet so often I take this precious gift for granted.

As I reflected on this truth, that belonging to the Lord truly is life’s greatest privilege, not only did I realize how often I take this for granted, but worse, I realized how at times I seem to think God is the one Who is privileged to have me! Somehow my thinking often twists to believe that God is the one Who should be thankful that He gets to listen to my problems, fix my messes, and resolve my conflicts. Yikes!

Consider this for a minute. We belong to the God Who created the universe. What’s more is He loves us, He is for us, He guides us, He strengthens us, and He actually wants a relationship with us. He doesn’t have to do any of this, but He does, not because of anything we have done to deserve it, or earn it, but only because of Who He is.

Take a minute to reflect on these truths:

1 John 4:10, “This is real love–not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

Romans 8:38, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow–not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”

Romans 8:31, “…If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

John 1:12, “But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God”

1 John 3:1, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

To be honest, I think my daily perspective on many things would change if I would simply remember how privileged I am to belong to the Lord. If I would be thankful for what it means to belong to Him and all that He does for me, not because He has to, but because He wants to. May I never forget this precious truth!

If like me you have taken for granted the privilege of belonging to the Lord, I would encourage you to take a minute today to reflect on what this means. Spend some time today thanking God for the awesome privilege of belonging to Him!