you belong.

Some things I've picked up without much effort. Typing came easy to me, I was the most proficient typer in my 7th grade class. Speaking - whether it was right or wrong I spoke it, I never asked. Laughing loud? Got that down. Eating fast? A pro.

Oh, but some things! They just don't come easy.

BELONGING.

What a word. I never quite figured out how to belong. So MANY instructions: Wear this. Watch that. Walk like this. Sport a hat. Drink tea. Eat slow. Stop here. Don't go. Stay single. Get a house. Stop slouching. Choose this blouse. So many directions. So many voices.

What does it even mean to belong? Does it mean to have approval from THOSE people? or THEM? Does it mean to have 2 friends? or 3 friends? or more friends then you can count?

Does it mean to wear THOSE labels? or sit at THAT table? What in the world does it mean? And how in the world do we do IT?

It doesn't come easy, but I think I'm figuring it out. Maybe, I belong. And if I belong, well then I guess that means that YOU belong.

It may seem hard to believe because, your 8th-grade classmates didn't know it. Your co-workers don't show it. And the scale tells you you've blown it.

Lies, lies, lies.

YOU BELONG.

For most of our lives we have been told what it means to belong, but have never stopped long enough to see if what we've been told is right or wrong.

• As an adult we belong if we contribute to our own Social Security and drive cars instead of ride bicycles.

• As a mother we belong if we have a clean and presentable house at all times, have children that say, "Yes, ma'am!", can play at least two sports, and at least one instrument. (The American Version of motherhood.)

• As a leader we belong if we are at the tippity-top of our profession, have a ROI through the ceiling, possess all the answers to every question, and do it all without breaking a sweat.

What rubbish.

If our belonging comes from our own effort, well then count me out. Because sometimes, I'm just plain tired and not all that put together.

YOU BELONG.

I've got proof. You are here. You are reading this blog. You are breathing breath. God made YOU. So you belong.

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." God said to a young man named Jeremiah.

Deep down in the depths of you, there is a longing:

• To be seen.

• To be sought after.

• To be somebody.

• To just be.

To belong is to be known. God knew Jeremiah before he even reached the womb of his mother. This is not just true for Jeremiah, it is true for me and you.

Jesus belonged.

The crowds didn't understand this and the Pharisees and lawyers were sure he was a first-rate ingrate. They thought they knew what it meant to belong and they were so busy trying to fit in themselves that they completely missed out.

He didn't set up a business office. He didn't hang out with the elite. He didn't boast about his accomplishments. He let people in, that THEY had kept out. He knocked down walls that were put up to divide. He wasn't worried about His reputation or station. He knew who He was. And He knew WHO he belonged to...

The reason we feel as if we don't belong is because of all the lines that we have drawn.

Rich. (Line) Poor. (Line) Old. (Line) Brown. (Line) White. (Line) Single. (Line) Divorced. (Line) Married. (Line) Borders. (Line) Educated. (Line) Subdivisions. (Line)

Lines, lines, lines.

Where we draw lines, Jesus uses an eraser.

Jesus came proclaiming this message, "YOU BELONG."

[You mean me? The brown girl, who likes to learn and talk, and is married to a not brown guy? Who has curly hair and no degrees and a past that could sell novels? The girl that steps in restaurants in my small southern city and is given the "You don't belong!" stare every single time. Me?]

"Yes, YOU." Jesus speaks to me. "Yes, YOU." He speaks to you.

"In Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Greek, slave and free person, male and female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus. You belong to Christ..."

"But to all who did accept him and believe in him he gave the right to become children of God."

"Then He started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody."

"There is no difference." "But to all." "Then He started over." I just love those phrases. The lines we've drawn are all just lies.

If Jesus came to break down walls and to erase lines, and I belong to Jesus, then those walls and lines hold no power or meaning in my life.

Single, married, white, black, old, young, rich, poor, refugee, immigrant, homeless, uptown, downtown, extrovert, introvert, disabled, and able. In Christ Jesus, we all belong.

We are seen.

We are sought.

We are somebody.

We can be.

We can stop trying to fit in, and get busy belonging.

Here's the cool thing, when you know you belong you are being like Jesus. You can escape the trap of "me" and bring others into the circle of "we."

Look around at your world. Who doesn't seem to "fit in?" Bring them to your table. Bring them into your conversations. Bring them in.

Live like Jesus. Take out your eraser and make those lines disappear.