Belonging

Apart from a few loners, everyone wants to belong. Children long to be chosen for a team. Teen-agers search for a group, occasionally choosing the wrong group, just so they can belong. Those of us who served on university campuses observed that students needed a group, or they suffered from an aloneness that affected their entire academic life. Adults of all ages join various kinds of groups to keep from being alone. Numerous studies have shown that the need to belong is one of the strongest human needs. In his book “Nearing Home” Billy Graham concludes, “We are not meant to be isolated from and independent of each other, either as human beings or as Christians. . . A solitary Christian is inevitably a weak Christian because he or she is failing to draw strength from what God is doing in the lives of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.” Paul spoke to this need as follows “All things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God” (1 Corinthians 3:22-23 NAS). The appeal of Christianity is a belonging relationship with a personal Savior, and more. In my global travels, I learned that as soon as I found a group of accepting believers, I found a “koinonia” fellowship to which I could belong. Give thanks this week for belonging.

And join me in praying for these global needs:
• Pray for a church in Vancouver that needs 50 NIV Pew Bibles and if you know anyone who has them to donate or would like to give $500 to purchase them, let me know.
• Pray for WestCoast Baptist Association and their need for a 12 passenger van and if you know of a church or individual that would like to donate a used one, let me know.
• Pray for Origin Church at the University of British Columbia and their need for financial partners.
• Pray for the Heart Beat Student Conference, Nov. 16 – 18 in Germany. Approximately 70 people from several countries will be participating.