I Belong To Jesus

Many times when Christians make assertions such as this, they are actually making the statements tongue-in-cheek. “Trust God,” Keep your eyes on Jesus,” “Do what Jesus would,” and many other phrases we use are similar. They mean something, but often the speaker is just quoting the phrase as a way of attempting to convey a message. The problem is once a phrase is used too often, it begins to lose its power.

Every once in a while, though, a believer will state something that sounds like a phrase but will instead be what they actually believe. The statement above is my statement and it is true about me. I belong to Jesus.

The “belonging” part means, to me, that He bought me (literally) with the price of His blood on the cross. This means, to me, that I once belonged to the enemy (spiritual death) and the Christ redeemed me through the shedding of His own blood and His death. These actions on His part took me from the kingdom of the enemy and moved me into the kingdom of God, but it also made me His “property.”

I am God’s property.

Since coming to know the Christ as my Savior, I have also come to know Him as my Lord. Lord means He is the boss, the owner of who I am. This knowledge gives me true peace and provides a much-needed balance in my life. Before coming to accept Jesus as the Lord of my life, I saw myself as my own owner. I ruled my own life. I was an angry, mean, and abusive man. I had no problem with hurting others and I didn’t care that I hurt them. Life wasn’t that important, I mean if we came from monkeys and develop as evolutionary accidents, then life has no true meaning other than life sucks and then you die. If that is true, then why should I care who I hurt?

After 32 years of damaging my life along with many people around me, especially my wife and children, I came to a realization that there was something really wrong with me. I didn’t want to be that man anymore. I thought about my life, I thought about all my choices, I thought about how things kept going wrong time after time. I couldn’t see a way out, because, in my mind, there was no way out.

One day, I was told that God wanted me to give Him a chance to prove to me that He could do what He said He could do. I was taken aback by that statement. God needed a chance. That was so ludicrous to me. God doesn’t need chances He is God, If God is real, then He can do anything He wants about anything and there is no one who can do anything about it. “God doesn’t need a chance,” I argued to myself, I need a chance.” I thought about what I had just heard and prayed for the first time. “God,” I said, “If you are real, if You can change me, then You can have me.” “But,” I added, “if you cannot change me, then don’t even waste my time.”

If you obey, you change.

One evening months later, I was speaking with my pastor, I asked him, “What will it take for God to change me?” “Do you really want God to change you,” he asked me. I thought about it for a moment and answered, “Yes, I don’t want to be that man anymore.” “Then,” He said, “if you obey Him, He will change you.” “That’s it,” I asked bit incredulous. “That’s it,” he said. “Then,” I said, “I will obey Him.”

That was 35 years ago. I am no longer that man. I choose not to be mean and violent, not because I am a Christian or a believer. I choose not to be mean and violent because my owner says He does not want me to be mean and violent. I have pastored a church because my owner wanted me to do so. I have run a counseling ministry because my owner wanted me to do so. I have led many persons to come to accept the Christ as their Savior because my owner wanted me to do so. I have preached countless sermons because my owner wanted me to do so. I have taught countless Bible classes because my owner wanted me to do so. I have held seminars, conferences, and training classes because my owner wanted me to do so. I have loved my wife because my owner wanted me to do so. I have loved my sons because my owner wanted me to do so. I now also love my grandchildren, because my owner wanted me to do so. I watch my tongue, I discipline myself with others, and I behave as a mature Christian man because my owner wants me to do so.

I have learned that having an owner is great. I am His property, and it is His responsibility to do with me as He believes best for me. His choices are better than any I can dream up for myself, because my dreams, desires, and wants may turn out to do me harm. I don’t know that future, so I may make some bad decisions, God does know the future, so when He makes decisions for me and chooses my way in life, He already knows what the outcome will be; no surprises there for Him. And, I trust Him.