True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness. True belonging does not require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.
3We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
The whole idea that you belong nowhere but everywhere is radical but also is ingrained in biblical truth. We are here because we belong but our identity can never be derived from belonging to a particular group or sect of society. Identity is uniquely personal and can only come from our own uniqueness. It must be possessed yet derived from God. The verse in Corinthians presents multiple paradoxes and I love that this is the essence of being in the world but not of it. It is the paradox that to get your life you must give it up.JOURNAL
That giving up is what ensures that identity is formed in God alone. It is then and only then that we will possess means and ability to live, work and engage in a world that is dying for direction, leadership and hope. For we will then no longer seek our identity from the world but rather are willing and fully engaged to sacrifice who we are for those that do not deserve that sacrifice. That then is the essence of a believer because it is then and only then that we are reflecting the love and passion of God himself.
25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
34“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
LUKE 14:25-35
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