To whom do you belong?

It's a strange question, isn't it? To whom do you belong? In our world, in our culture, it's a question that might raise eyebrows, cause offense and make the listener wonder what you are asking. But it's an important question because it affects everything you do.

In our culture the reply would be, "I belong to no one! I'm my own man, I do as I please. No one is lord over my life." And with the declaration we proudly announce our independence. But is this the proper response for the Christian? Is this the way we should respond to this question? And, what are the implications?

If I'm a free spirit, an independent soul then I can do as I please, make my own choices, deal with the consequences, but if I have connections to someone else, to another authority, it changes my answer and my life. This morning, as I am reading Paul's travelog in the book of Acts I came upon this short passage,

"²³ For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me..."

To whom I belong and whom I serve... Isn't that an interesting phrase? Here's a few of the implications, 1. Who I belong to, who I am accountable to affects what I do. 2. What I do reflects and is a response to who I belong to. If I'm the servant of another it will affect my choices, my identity, my life. If, on the other hand, I believe I report to no one then any choice I make, any decision I come to reflects the fact that life is simply a story told about me...it's all about me!

Paul spoke to a different lifestyle. A lifestyle of one possessed and governed by another, "To whom I belong and whom I serve" makes clear to anyone listening that Paul considered himself a slave to someone else, to God himself, and his life and choices were directed by that identity. So, to whom do you belong? Who do you serve? What determines the choices of your life? How do you decide your course of action? What governs you?

These are important questions for us because we all live out the answer to this question- To whom do you belong?

In another passage Paul described this reality in another way as he wrote,

"Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body."

You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.....so live like it!

To whom do you belong? Who do you serve? These are important questions for a life lived to the glory of God.