One of the first words a child learns to say is always, “Mine.”
“Mine, mine, mine!”
Indeed, we seem re-programmed for this concept of ownership. We want and we grab and we
declare, “Mine!” –and the word is always followed by an exclamation point.
But, really, what is “mine” and what is God’s?
The Bible is very clear on the point:
“The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners
with me. (Leviticus 25:23 ESV)
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured
possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; (Exodus 19:5 ESV)
Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. (Job
41:11 ESV)
So, there is no material possession on this earth which is truly ours. It all belongs to God. Yes, God does
give us things over which we have charge, but we are the keepers of the lighthouse, not the owners.
There are some things which can be mine:
My opinion.
My anger.
My sin.
My love.
My faith.
But nothing we can truly call “mine” is anything we can grasp with our hands.
It has been said that when a person is on their death bed, they never ask that their possessions be
brought to them. They ask for those they love— for their relationships.
It’s also been said, (less poetically, to be sure) that the hearse carrying your casket won’t have a trailer
hitch on it.
In the end, even we are His.
Yes, we belong to God.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you
may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter
2:9 ESV)
I can think of nothing better than being His. For the God of all the universe created me, redeemed me,
sanctified me, and calls me as His own.
And there is no greater peace.
How about you? Do you take comfort in God’s possession of you? Or, is there fear in that thought?
Could you describe what it means to belong to God to someone who wasn’t saved?
Today’s Praise
(Psalm 98:7-8 ESV)
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together