6 & 7 Sep 2025 (Pastoral Page) THE BLESSING OF BELONGING

by Dr Daniel Chan

Serving in the worship ministry offered me the opportunity to learn hymns and songs. Before the internet age, this was a laborious process. But the labour was rewarded by a deeper acquaintance with hymns, especially ones that could convey deep truths in a few memorable lines. Sometimes a phrase may linger in one’s memory, seeming to invite deeper reflection. One such phrase for me was “the blessing of belonging.” (Do you know a song that contains this phrase?)

A sense of belonging is a universal human need. People seek belonging in family, community, or nation, and many join clubs or associations for social ties, recreation and other opportunities, often paying for the privilege. Yet belonging to the church is far more significant. Unlike human organisations, the church is not man-made but established by God. As Peter reminds us, the church is God’s work, and the blessing of belonging to it surpasses any earthly membership or affiliation.

“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4,5)

The apostle says that believers are like “living stones” built into a spiritual house through Jesus Christ, the Living Stone. Jesus Christ is the foundation of this spiritual house. By his keeping the law, dying for sin, and rising again, Christ gives believers a Living Hope—eternal life in heaven. Those who trust in him are not only forgiven and freed from condemnation but also adopted as God’s children, receiving all the rights and inheritance of his family. This adoption, planned by God from before creation, secures believers’ identity as his chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation.

Belonging to Christ brings countless blessings: mercy, forgiveness, freedom from guilt, the Spirit’s fruit, and the assurance of God’s love and care. Adoption also means believers share in God’s family, the church, where they support, encourage, forgive, and build one another up. A healthy church reflects the love of a family—bearing burdens, serving in ministry, nurturing faith through teaching in word and deed, and offering mercy to those in need.

The blessing of belonging is both vertical and horizontal: believers belong to God through Christ, and they belong to one another in the body of Christ. This belonging provides strength in weakness, comfort in affliction, and opportunities to use our personal gifts to uplift others. Ultimately, the church becomes a place where the reality of God’s mercy and adoption is lived out in community, reminding all that they truly belong to Christ and his people.

Today, this belonging is expressed through worship, CARE groups, mercy ministries and serving one another. In these ways, believers carry each other’s burdens, nurture faith, and grow together in a caring spiritual family. The church becomes a place where help, encouragement, and strength are always available, and where each person can use their gifts to bless others, including our neighbours in the West Coast community.

This weekend, we participate in the children’s dedication service. Often, we assume the relevance of this service is for the children and their parents. But there is also a section during which the congregation vows to be faithful in our calling as members of the body of Christ, to help these parents to be faithful to God, and to help teach and train their children in the ways of the Lord so that they might one day trust Him as Saviour and Lord.  This service of dedication is another reminder of the blessing we have of belonging to God and belonging to the Body of Christ.

Oh how good it is

On this journey we share

To rejoice with the happy

And weep with those who mourn.

For the weak find strength

The afflicted find grace

When we offer the blessing

Of belonging.[1]

[1] “Oh how good it is”, Keith Getty / Stuart Townend / Ross Holmes / Kristyn Getty.