Belonging to "I Know"

Do you remember the last time you were with a small child offering a point of instruction, when they responded, “I know” with an unwavering confidence, implying, “Didn’t you?” Or what about you parents who tried to offer advice to your teen, when they snidely replied, “I knoooww!” while rolling their eyes? And then there was that time when you listened to a speaker, coach, friend or sermon when truth resonated with your soul and you heard yourself whisper, “I know.” Sometimes “Knowing” isn’t always true “Knowing.” Sometimes “Knowing” comes in the form of a child who may “Know,” but it comes across as “Agreement.” Sometimes “Knowing” comes in the form of a teenager who may “Knooow,” but it comes across as “Prideful or Arrogant.” And then there is the “Knowing” that comes when you are met with words that pierce your soul, leaving you feeling exposed, disarmed and vulnerable but with understanding, clarity and conviction.

Man-made “Belonging,” false Belonging, always comes with a price of admission, a sacrifice, an exchange. The cost is high, requiring one small piece of your “Knowing” at a time. The greater your desire to “Belong” to the group, the gathering or community, the more it will cost until one day you realize you no longer “Know” who you are. One morning you look into the mirror and realize that you shine brightly just like the group, your actions reflect just like the gathering and your speech reverberates just like the community. In that moment of haunting quiet you realize your “Knowing” is gone because you “Belong” to someone else.

While the socially accepted definition of belonging suggests that it is a deep-seated human desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, to be acceptance into the fold, embraced into the group or welcomed into the gathering, Belonging, true Belonging begins with the embrace of nail pierced hands and a genuine love that has burned, and will burn for you every day, hour, minute and second for the rest of eternity. When we bow our hearts before Him, we may not “Know” Him just yet, but there is something about Him, who He says He is, what He said He will do, an offer of love unimagined in exchange for rags of sorrow and pain, that offers hope and true Belonging. Knowing who He is and whose we are, is the foundation for true Belonging.

But it doesn’t stop there. Yes, “Knowing” whose we are lays the foundation for Identity, but “Knowing” WHO we are, what our Design is, our gifts and talents, wields a life of purpose, intentionality and passion that leads to a place of Vision and Destiny. THIS is true “Belonging.” A Belonging that doesn’t require the sacrifice of “Knowing” ourselves in order to “Belong” to the group, but a sacrifice of baggage in exchange for pure gold in order to walk in Destiny. The next time you hear something that pierces your soul, leaving you feeling exposed, disarmed and vulnerable but with understanding, clarity and conviction, simply respond by saying, “I know, and I Belong.”