Molly belongs to me. I bought her from the breeder when she was 46 days old. The moment I paid for her, she became mine. I took over the responsibility to love her, care for her, provide for her, and protect her. I do everything for her that she needs, as a little dog, to flourish.
Molly knows she is mine. When I need to go away for a short while, I hand my responsibility for her over to a trusted friend who cares for her as lovingly as I do, but… she is not me. Molly is sad and restless until I return, and ecstatic beyond words when she sees me. Every muscle in her body is mobilised to express her joy. Her tail would fly off if it were not securely fastened to her rear end. Even when I leave her for an hour or two, she responds to my homecoming as though I have been gone for days!
This bond is so strong that Molly even trusts me when I turn her upside down to treat her for any ailment. She submits to the indignity of cream on her chest and tummy for itchy skin and even on her paws which she guards tenaciously as a specially personal part of her anatomy.
So it is with God and me.
I remember the story of a young boy who carved a sailboat out of wood, dressed it up with paint and sails and took it to the water to try it’s performance. He was excited to see how the wind filled the little sails and pushed it through the water.
Unfortunately, the little boat did so well that it sailed out of reach. The water was too deep for him to rescue it, and soon it was also out of sight.
The little boy returned home in tears, his prized possession gone.
A few months passed. One day, as he was passing the toyshop in town, he was overjoyed to see his little boat in the shop window. Somehow his craft had been found and offered to the shop owner for sale.
He rushed inside to claim his possession. The shop owner refused to return his boat and he was forced to buy it back at the shop keeper’s price. After months of saving his pocket money, he finally walked out of the shop with the liitle boat in his hands.
“You are twice mine,” he whispered as he walked home. “I made you, and I bought you!”
Twice God’s! He made us…
Psalms 139:13-14 NIV
[13] “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. [14] I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
… and He bought us.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV
[19] “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; [20] you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
This belongingness has a double meaning. I belong to God, therefore, He takes full responsibility for me. I belong to God, therefore I am accountable to Him. He has the right and responsibility to train and discipline me so that I learn to conform to His ways just as Molly is accountable to me. When she is naughty, I scold her. Somehow she understands and seeks my forgiveness by licking my hands.
Molly and I live in harmony with each other as much as we can as human and dog. With God as my perfect heavenly Father, it is up to me to treasure this belongingness by living in harmony with Him, trusting His goodness and responding to His discipline. Nothing is more precious than belonging to God.
1 Peter 2:9 NIV
[9] “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”