We Belong to God

^Scripture

⁷ We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. ⁸ If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Devotion

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s "A Brief Statement of Faith" begins with the words "in life in death, we belong to God."  That simple yet profound statement has been echoing in my head quite frequently.  They were a definite help in my recent trip to West Virginia. 

I had gone to my family's home so that other relatives and I could visit with aunt who is nearing the end of her life and who wanted nothing more than to meet her great-niece.   The trip had a lot of moving parts to worry about.  What would everyone eat?  How were we all going to comfortably fit into my sister's small house?  What steps could we take to protect both my aunt and the baby from COVID?  Those questions and many others kept me awake in the nights before I headed out, and they stayed with me as I scrubbed dishes, sanitized everything in sight, and helped play hostess in the middle of a pandemic.  Keeping everyone as safe, comfortable, and happy as possible was hard work.  Even though I was surrounded by loved ones who were doing their part, there were times when I felt like God expected me to do it all on own.  I  had moments when I wanted to  tell other family members that they were doing things wrong or making life harder.  And there were moment when I could see other relatives struggling with the same emotions.

I think Paul could identify with feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, and afraid of getting things wrong...especially as he wrote letters to calm disputes within different churches.  I'm sure those early Christians that he was writing to also had moments when they felt alone in their desire to get everything right.  But Paul reminds us that we are never on our own.  When we live, we live to Christ.  When we die, we die to Christ. Because Christ is with us in all of our living and all of our dying, we can set aside our worries and tendency to judge one another's decisions. Jesus doesn't expect us to be perfect or have all the right answers.  Instead, he wants us to hold him in our hearts and work others to do the best we can to love God and one another.  We can trust Jesus, who knows what is in our hearts, to do the rest.  In life and in death we belong to God.

When I set aside my desire to get everything right and put my trust in the Lord, I saw just how present God is our living and our dying.  God was with my aunt and uncle as they fed each other pie while holding the baby.  God laughed with us as we ate biscuits and shared memories.  God sat in silence with us as we stared into the night.  God even helped us find lost face masks and misplaced purses as my aunt prepared to return to her home.  And as I watched my aunt lovingly hold her great-niece on her lap, all I could think was that in life and in death we belong to God.   God had given my family the beautiful gift of time together...and I could trust the Lord to keep us safe and protected as we did our best to make the most of each moment.  In life and in death, we belong to God.

These are anxious times,  It is easy to feel both overwhelmed by our responsibilities and judgemental of the choices others make.  When it all begins to feel like too much to handle, I encourage you to pause for a moment and remind you are not alone..  You may not always understand the path or what you called to do next, but  you can trust that our good and faithful Lord is there to help you.  In life and in death, you belong to God.  As we live in him and die in him, God continues to bless each of us along life's way.

Prayer

Thank you, God letting us know that in all that we do and all that we are, we always belong to you. May we trust in your goodness and learn to live in the moments you give us, secure in the knowledge that through you, our lives are enough.  Amen.