By Janean
We all desire to belong to someone. Relationships are very important in our everyday lives. There are several different kinds of relationships. There are relationships when one man and one woman realize they care for the other so deeply that they can’t imagine their world without the other. The couple usually has similar likes and dislikes, and where one lacks, the other is strong. Outsiders can say that the two fit each other like a glove. There is that sweet, heart-thumping feeling you get when you know that the other person wants to be yours and you are theirs.
Then there is the sweet relationship between parent and child. It’s amazing when you hold your newborn for the first time, and the love that flows through you for that child. I remember one night; I was up with our youngest son. He was so tiny. I had him curled up on my right shoulder with his head nestled into my neck, one of my hands patting him gently on his back. It was around two in the morning, I was exhausted, but I just sat there, loving the moment of holding him close to me. Knowing that one day he would be too big to hold him like this again. The most precious thought that went through my mind was this little guy is mine.
In my Bible reading recently, a phrase has gripped my heart as I have pondered the meaning behind it. The phrase can be found at the end of the verse in Isaiah 43:1, “But now thus saith the LORD that created you, O Jacob, and He that formed you, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed you, I have called you by thy name; thou art Mine.” I don’t know about you, but when I see the Lord say “you are Mine” makes my heart leap and a warm comforting feeling spreads over me. To think that the creator of the universe wants a personal relationship with me is astonishing to say the very least. Not only that, but He also knows and calls me by my name. I remember my time at college, my freshman English teacher continued to remember my name all four years that I was there. Whenever I saw him walking around on campus, he would say hi and say my name. It meant so much that he, with all the students that came through his classes, would remember me.
Not only does God know my name, and I am His, He also knows the most insignificant things about me. In Matthew 10:30 we see that He even knows the number of hairs on my head (as I have gotten older, I have less hairs on my head for Him to remember), “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Why would God have that verse in the Bible? Why should the number of hairs matter to our great and powerful God? Because He wants us to see how important we are to Him. He wants us to completely understand that having a relationship with Him is paramount. The next verse continues by saying, “…you are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 6:26 explains this concept even more, “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are ye not much better than they?” What do you think? Are you worth loving more than a little brown bird? In God’s eyes, YES, you are! God created you! He gave you life! He wants a personal, one on one, relationship with you. How do you obtain such a great gift?
First, we have to realize that we all have done wrong things, Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Second, confess before God that you are a sinner,1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” After that, you are God’s. You are His beloved child with a relationship that can never be broken. John 10:28-29, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” Also in Romans 8:38-39 it says, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Both Dave and I confessed before the Lord that we are sinners at a young age. At that moment God forgave and we became His. Each one of our children, Hannah, Micah, Robert, and Josh understood in their own hearts their need of a Savior. They each believed that Christ died for them and now belong to our great God. Hannah is already reaping the joy of her decision from so many years ago. She is walking those streets of gold with her Savior and many others that have gone before us.
Dear friend, I ask you, do you want to be among those that God calls His own? Please, do not leave this page until you have fully understood where you stand with your relationship with God. Can He really say, “you are Mine?”
We are blessed.
Hannah Helps 