Growth Points: Remember you are His

Fall Begins.

“…And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”
-1 Corinthians 3:23

Last week, I concluded my 10-part series on the Fruits of the Spirit and how I’d seen them in action at camp. If you haven’t read that series yet, please consider doing so, as it lays the foundation for this series. I know I’ve said this is a 12-part series, but that doesn’t mean it’s chronological. If you read out of order, or if you don’t have time to read every post, you’ll still get the heart of what I’m writing.

You’ll also notice that The WLF Podcast is back for Fall. If you’re an auditory learner, I hope you can experience my content in that way.

Each week until December, I’ll cover a different “growth point”, or way we can grow in our walk with God. As you’ll soon see, I’ve also created a take-home graphic that I’ll embed in each post. As always, if you have content ideas or suggestions, please comment below or email me! Let’s hop in.

Today’s growth point is…

Before we get to reading Scripture, prayer, worship, and serving others, we should first cover the statement on the graphic below:

You might be asking, What does that mean? It means God chose you. It means He was willing to die for you. It means you belong to Him. What I don’t mean is slavery or bondage. What I do mean is that you belong to Him in the sense that you can always go to Him. Like a child who goes to their parent when they need something, we can run to God whenever life gets difficult. That is our hope.

In His Words…

In Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT) Jesus says,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

One theme I’ve been noticing lately in Scripture is the Action/Promise. Jesus gives us so many awesome promises (like how He’ll give us rest), but there’s always an action attached. To accept Jesus’ peace and rest, we must come to Him.

By realizing that we belong to Christ, we can bring our trials and struggles before Him. I know this seems basic, but it lays the groundwork for everything I want to cover in the next few months. If we aren’t willing to bring our challenges before God, we can’t help anyone else with theirs.

Time to get practical.

Room to Grow.

I want us to read the following four verses about belonging to Christ.

“Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.”
-Psalm 100:3 NLT

“But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, ‘Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.’”
-Isaiah 43:1 NLT

“If we live, it’s to honour the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honour the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
-Romans 14:8 NLT

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.” 
-1 Corinthians 6:19-20a NLT

I’d like you to pick the verse that touches your heart most. Now ask yourself why it stands out. What do you appreciate about this promise? Once you’ve done that, join me in turning God’s Word into a prayer. I chose the passage in 1 Corinthians 6, and here’s how I prayed it back to God…

“Dear Lord, please help me remember that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and that Your Spirit lives in me and was given to me by You. Remind me that I belong to you, not to myself. Thank you for buying me at a high price. I love you, Lord. Amen.”

I personally find it difficult to always seek God first. My own thoughts often intrude, or I let emotions take control. But when we remember that we are His, and when we turn to Him, He’ll give us lasting peace.

By praying Scripture back to Him, God reminds me that my life belongs to Him. By acknowledging that reality, I can grow deeper in my love for Him. Once we’ve laid a foundation in Christ, we can begin to explore His Word and His truth. Next week we’ll jump into the best way we can know God’s heart: the Bible.

We always have room to grow (at least I do). Will you join me as we seek to become more like Him? As Dallas Willard put it so adequately, “God’s whole purpose is to bring us to the point where He can walk with us quietly, calmly, and constantly, leaving us space to grow to be His (often fumbling) collaborators.”

Until then, for His glory, always. To quote Ephesians 2:13…

“But now you belong to Christ Jesus. At one time you were far away from God. Now you have been brought close to Him.”