Where Do We Belong?

“The world and it’s desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” --1 John 2:17

      A few weeks ago, my mom and I were driving down the road with the radio on.  All of a sudden, she turned it up, saying she really liked the song playing.  As I listened, I realized that the song was “Where I Belong” by the band Buliding 429.  The fact that she said she really liked the song quite surprised me.  Not because the lyrics weren’t good, or because I didn’t like the song – this song is in fact one of my favorites! – but because the style isn’t a type she usually likes or listens to.  Once the song was over and the radio turned back down, I asked her why she likes the song so much.  She told me that it was because of the amazing reminder it gives to Christians.  The song assures us that we aren’t home yet; that earth may be where we are at the moment, for the purpose of fulfilling God’s will, but it isn’t our final destination.

     I’m going to be addressing certain lines from the song, so take a moment and listen to it.

     The first verse of the song is “Sometimes it feels like I’m watching from the outside.  Sometimes it feels like I’m breathing, but am I alive?  I will keep searching for answers that aren’t here to find.”  Now I don’t know about you all, but I find that it can be hard living as a Christian in this world, sometimes just because the focus is so different.  Some of the things your peers might do or encourage you to do may go against what God has commanded, or how you feel convicted, so you don’t go along with what they’re doing.  But by not participating, maybe you begin to feel like you don’t fit in.  Maybe you feel like I do at times that you aren’t living to your full potential – you could be doing more – so you look for other ways to fill that gap.  The only problem is, we can’t fill it and never will be able to; at least not while we’re here on earth. 

     The chorus says, “All I know is I’m not home yet, this is not where I belong.  Take this world and give me Jesus, this is not where I belong.”  The reason we can’t fill that gap?  Where we are right now – on earth – is just the path we have to take to get to our final destination.

     The second verse – “So when the walls come falling down on me and when I’m lost in the current of a raging sea I have this blessed assurance holding me” – and the bridge – “When the earth shakes, I wanna be found in You.  When the lights fade, I wanna be found in You” – remind us of the amazing hope we have as Christians.  Not hope in the sense of, “I hope I get a laptop for my birthday!” but the biblical sense of hope.  See, in the Bible, hope isn’t a “wishful thinking” but a sure certainty that God will provide for us and do as He promises in the Bible.   We have God’s promise that one day, we will be in Heaven, in His presence, and that is where we belong.

     I wasn’t able to pick just one specific verse to go along with this article, but my brother has a t-shirt with a quote that I think sums it up quite well.  It’s called the Alien Creed and is taken from 1 Peter 2:11, 1 John2:15-17, Colossians 3:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 4:17, and Philippians 3:20.

I am an alien.

I am not of this world, nor do I call it “home.”

My desires are not for earthly things

that will fade, corrode, or burn.

I set my heart and mind on things above.

My faith and hope are in God alone

and I eagerly await His return for me.

I’m a citizen of Heaven.

     The Comma Queen

If you’re interested in listening to the story behind the song, according to the band, click here.

*as always, all Bible verses taken from BibleGateway.com, this time from the New International Version 1984

Image by Leaping Lizard