Burdens and Blessings of Belonging

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19,20

As humans, we need to recognize two marks of what it is to be human.  Our mere existence tells us a little bit of who we are and what we are called for.  But before I go too far, the fact is that we are called.  Every person, regardless of their religious beliefs, is brought into existence by another.  It is my personal conviction that I was created by the one and only God at the beginning of time.  Others will disagree and attribute their existence to another deity or even the circumstances of chance.  But nobody can reasonably testify that they created themselves or, as the professor James V. Schall once said, “threw themselves into being.” 

Therefore, the fact that we exist implies that we belong to another.  We have a belonging to our families, belonging to our friends, and belonging to our country, naturally.  But above all, we belong to whomever or whatever created us in the first place. 

Then if we are brought into existence for another, we must have some purpose, or some end, to achieve before our existence is made complete.  This is the second mark of what it is to be human.  We have a responsibility to fulfill before our peers, our society, and most of all our maker because He made us unique.  Humans are distinct from animals, superior to any bird or fish, and possessing an intellect far greater than any other species.  How can this be?  The entity who first created us must have implanted a part of Himself into such a special creation.  I hold that this is the image of God, reflected in our person and designed that way from the start.  But even if and when that image was tarnished, God restored it to us at a great price.  This time through a redemptive act, not a creative act, we again see that we belong to another.  The restoration of our fallen person imposes a weightier calling – to honor that same God.

Recent circumstances have caused me to reflect on these truths.  My friends will soon be seniors in college.  Even before their junior year has come to a close, they have already begun to discuss what life might be like after college or how their lives and relationships will change.  I, too, will share this experience, only a year later than most of the people I am closest to.  I can relate to some of their anxieties, though the reality has not hit me quite as severely.  For now, I am delighted and fearful at the same time; delighted to see these things from a new perspective but fearful of what is yet to come. 

My greatest concern has been what or whom will I take with me after I graduate?  Loneliness, you might say, is lingering in the back of my mind.  Chances are that I will not live in such close proximity with friends as I do here, nor will I even be able to associate with most of them personally.  Call me a realist or a fatalist, but I am already acknowledging that I will lose most of my friendships following graduation.  On the one hand relocation will put a distance between me and others, but on the other familial responsibilities will drive a wedge between us.  I don’t know where I will be yet or what I will be doing post-graduation, but I have no doubt that I will lose many contacts.  This is particularly troubling because I would like to have at least one person, if not a small handful, throughout the rest of my life with whom I can look back and remember these four or five years.  Otherwise, every friendship will indeed be lost, leaving only a memory. 

Should this be the case and I become separated from every person who has shaped my life these past few years, there is still hope.  I am reminded in this moment of anxiety and despair that I do not belong to myself.  I belong to friends at present.  Hopefully through the times we share and the thoughts we exchange, my existence has promoted their growth and general fulfillment in life.  But if I fail to accomplish that purpose, or if that calling dies at graduation, I am comforted with the knowledge that at least I belong to God – in past, present, and future.  Fears of loneliness need not grip me because there is one who has persisted with me throughout this time and one who will never leave me, even if college does.  Irrespective of choice, my existence owes itself to Him and the redemption He has provided leaves me with an obligation to serve Him.  This is not troubling, in fact, it is encouraging.  I may not have total freedom and independence, but would I really want it even if that were attainable?  It is consoling to know that I am not my own.  No matter what may happen from here on out, through the rest of my college career and after, the fact that I belong to an other (and that “other” is my maker) means that I will never be alone.  What a wonderful feeling that is!

The question that remains is how well I am recognizing and fulfilling my obligations to my master now?  I know that I belong to God, but do I live as such?  Do I accept these truths and take them seriously enough?  Do I honor God with my body?  Do I seek to fulfill my sense of belonging or accomplish my obligations before others enough, and when I do, do I do this so much that I neglect those same responsibilities before God?  There are great burdens and great blessings when we understand and accept our belonging to another.  This is not a matter to be taken lightly.  The feeling of loneliness is a lingering fear now, but it can certainly become a reality.  I need to learn and live this more fully now, not just for my own security, but so that I may honor God as my creator and sustainer above all else.