Belonging
There’s a term in the pro wrestling world called “pulling back the
curtain”. I’m about to do that with my life. As some of you know I
was married for almost 11 years, and my wife left me and divorced me no
explanation. Recently I was talking to my fiancé Becky about part of that
time afterwards. I spent about 2 years after my divorce hurting a lot.
I told Becky that for part of that time I felt like God had abandoned me.
He never did! I almost bought into several lies straight from the
pit of hell. The lies were as follows. I thought my life was over
with no more purpose. I thought I mattered to no one. I thought I
could never be loved by a woman ever again. Whatever women wanted I
didn’t believe I possessed it. The first day I met Becky, she told me she
loved me and that I mattered to her. For a long time, I didn’t want to be
at church because I felt that most churches, I had ever been to treated people
who had been through a divorce like they had committed the unpardonable sin.
In my case I didn’t choose to be in that situation. I had even
gotten to the point that I almost believed God could never use me again because
of my divorce. I had to go through two years of searching the Bible and
bouncing from church to church before finding the place I was supposed to be
at. Church is not a building but people who are as hurting and sometimes
are nearly as messed up as you seeking after God. The church is made up
of messed up people. We don’t always get it right. But when you
find the one God calls you to, you will find a group that you need to be
around. Christians can sometimes get our focus so messed up and I’m about
to show you an example in a song that drove that home for me. See a lot
of times when I went to church after all that I didn’t feel like I belonged.
This is a song with such powerful lyrics you may find yourself in it.
Either you were being judged, or you were doing the judging.
You don’t belong here by Kim Hill
Hey, lady sitting by yourself
I can hear them say
“You don’t belong here
If your man’s away.”
Cause they believe in a love
That has no end
So, you can either tough it out
Or live in sin
Just when I think
They’ve got it all wrong
That’s when I realize the truth
Maybe they’re right
You don’t belong here
You deserve to be where
There are people who care
Instead of a world
That shouts from the high road
Saying we love like God
But you don’t belong here.
Cause although we all fall short
I guess they still believe
Some people fall too far
For grace to reach
I’m not trying to decide what’s
Right or Wrong
I don’t think that job is up to me
But they’re selling passports
To the gates of kingdom come
Like they’re the ones who hold the keys
And they’re not
Hey, man hanging on the cross
Is it really true
When they say we don’t belong here
You’ve been there too
You were a friend to the prostitutes
You were a friend to thieves
For that your blood was shed
By the Pharisees
Cause you don’t belong here
You deserve to be where
There are people who care
Instead of a world
That shouts from the high road
Saying we love like God
But you don’t belong here.
Every last one of us as humans has been through hurt and judgement
calls that we didn’t deserve. We need fellow Christians in our lives who
will see us as people and care for us. I had to get back in a Bible
believing church to see that and draw closer to God. He still loved me
and wanted an active relationship in my life regardless of what I had been
through. None of it caught God by surprise. Like the people of
Israel in Jeremiah’s time emotionally I was in exile. God wanted me to
return to him so he could change me. In Hebrews 10:25 it says this.
“Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we
must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially
since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.” Every
person you meet is going through a battle you can’t see. God called us to
love one another. Stop acting like you’re selling tickets and get to pick
who gets to go to Heaven and who doesn’t. That’s God’s decision and he
called you to love them and point them in the right direction not push them
away. I personally have lived through divorce, church members trying to
decide what kind of music I could listen to, being told by church members how I
should act or dress. A lot of times the band Petra had it right because “Sometimes
God’s children should be seen and not heard.” Are you living out the love
of Christ or just talking about it and making judgements against people you
come in contact with.
Romans 12:16-18
“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but
associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited. Do not repay evil
for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.
If it is possible on your part live at peace with everyone.”
There’s a lot of hurt in the world don’t contribute to it but point
people to God and try to help others heal.
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