Where do you belong?

3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith. 4 For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, 5 so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. (Romans 12:3-5 ESV) 

I don't know if you have ever considered "belonging to one another" before, but in light of this reminder from the Apostle Paul, let us spend some time today just exploring what that may "look like" in our everyday life. One of the first things that comes to mind if I truly realize I belong to someone other than myself is that my normal focus on "me" is going to need to change! It has to be about someone other than me all of the time! That may not be the most popular concept to put our there to begin with, but it is so very true. We don't belong to ourselves and therefore, "me" needs to take a backseat if we are to be successful in this relationship thing. I think this may be what Paul was trying to describe when he reminds us not to think "more highly of ourselves" than we ought to think. 

Next, we face the challenge of figuring out where we "belong". Honestly, this is an age-old question faced by every kid growing up in this world - setting out to "belong" or "fit in" somewhere. For those with minds that function on the "braniac" scale, this may be with others in a group who also enjoy digging into those books, learning new things, considering the possibilities and probabilities of certain happenings, etc. There is absolutely nothing wrong with those who have bent toward learning - but not everyone will relate to this group. There are others who function on the "socialite" scale - finding it very easy to make all kinds of friends and be involved in many different groups all at one time. I am not one of those - but those I do find my "fit" in life with are pretty important to me. Regardless of your "fit", you look to find a "place" with others who meet some need you have on that "relational" level. To figure out where we "belong" is a really big deal.

Lastly, we all serve each other - finding a purpose in fulfilling some "need" within the group we find our fit within. Sort of like a glove contains five smaller "tube" spaces to house the five digits on our hands, we find our fit in some "nitch" within the group. When we do, we realize a "good fit". When we don't find that "nitch", we start looking elsewhere to find it. We all need to serve one another in some fashion - even though we may not realize it at first. We might just think others are put into our lives to serve "us", but there is no fulfillment in being served until one also learns what it is to serve another! Just sayin!