Belonging. Community. Acceptance.
Circle. Clan. Tribe.
I cannot get away from these words, these ideas, and these concepts. They have been circling my mind for months. Like clouds that move and change shape throughout the day, they flow through my head, colliding with one another, taking on new forms, and following me everywhere I go. I recently attended a federal conference in Virginia that was supposed to be about grants and sustainability planning in schools. What did the presenters do? They invited three high school students from across the nation to speak about their experiences with belonging in schools. These words and their concepts followed me hundreds of miles and landed smack dab on a stage in front of me through the voices of strangers.
Belonging is something we all want. We want to be fully seen, known, loved, and accepted just as we are. I believe this is a key element in the community God desires for His people. Yet, if that is the case, why do we so often feel like we don’t belong? I think we can all recall a time when we’ve sat in a room full of people feeling lost, ignored, forgotten, or misunderstood. I can recall quite a few of those moments.
I believe the history of belonging begins with Abraham. He was called to leave his home in Ur and follow God into “the land I will show you,” (Gen. 12:1).Starting with this verse and throughout the remainder of Abraham’s story, there are numerous times that scripture refers to him as a stranger or a foreigner. I cannot help but wonder if there were events, holidays, and celebrations where Abraham and his family were excluded because they were foreigners? Is this feeling of being an outcast what led him to quickly and easily entertain the strangers who found him resting by the oaks of Mamre in Genesis 18? Abraham’s life as a foreigner foreshadows the life his descendants would experience as foreigners in Egypt. Could the pain Abraham and his descendants experienced be what moved our compassionate God to command the Israelites to take care of the foreigners and strangers among them (Ex. 22:21; 23:9; Lev. 19:33-34;)? Is it any surprise that we sometimes feel like outsiders when the founding father of our faith lived as a foreigner in the very land that God promised would one day be his (Genesis 13:14-18; 15:7-18)?
Yet, as I read the story of Abraham again, I am struck by the realization that not only did God promise Abraham descendants, which is where we often focus, God also promised Abraham a home. He could rest in knowing that his innumerable offspring would have a place to belong. And once they did find that place, they were to help others experience belonging, too. Rather than hoard their possessions, their homes, and their provisions, they were to care for those who had no place to settle and nothing to offer in return. Deuteronomy 10:18-19 reads “…He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. So you, too, must show love to foreigners for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt,” (NLT).
Like Abraham and his descendants, as followers of Christ we walk as foreigners among men. In many settings we are surrounded by people whose customs and ways of life differ from our own and these differences can sometimes leave us feeling like strangers.
But also like Abraham, God has promised us a home, a place of belonging. Jesus said, “My Father’s home is designed to accommodate all of you….I will be there to greet you personally and welcome you home,” (John 14:2-3 The Voice). Simply put, this world is not meant to be our home. There is a place in the heavenly realm where we are fully seen, fully known, fully loved, and fully accepted. At times it may be difficult to experience that on earth, but just as Abraham had faith, we too can focus on the promise and what is to come. Just as Abraham and his descendants served the strangers at their door, we can serve those around us in the same way. And in so doing, we grow the kingdom of God and obtain a glimpse of the belonging that we so deeply desire. In choosing to open our hearts, we find we aren’t strangers after all, and we experience, even if only for a moment, the belonging promised by the Father.
-Liz