“In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:5
There is a mystery to belonging, and it is found in friendship. It does not grasp at ownership – it holds with harmony; it is mutually enriching; it is the relationship for which we are created. John O’Donohue writes extensively on “our yearning to belong” more than any other author I’ve read:
Belonging suggests warmth, understanding, and embrace. No one was created for isolation. When we are isolated we are prone to being damaged; our minds lose their flexibility and natural kindness; we become vulnerable to fear and negativity…
Nowhere do we feel so deeply encountered as we do in the presence of another human being… One of our deepest longings is to find love and friendship… [friendship that] awakens an eternal echo in the hearts of friends…
True belonging is gracious receptivity. This is the appropriate art of belonging in friendship: friends do not belong to each other, but rather with each other. This “with” reaches to the very depths of their twinned souls…
May you enjoy the experience of belonging in friendship here, and with the One who made you for Himself.
