Belonging to Each Other

Did you know that the Bible says we believers belong?

We do. We belong... to each another.

Romans 12:4-5 (NLT) says, "Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other."

To belong is to be both fully known AND fully loved.

I heard this in a sermon by Pastor Mark today at Venice Church, and I looked on Google Images to find a chart he showed, and found this one that is similar (although the lower right quadrant had the word "superficial" in the chart I saw earlier today - belonging is DEEP... fully known, fully loved... members one of another):

Belongingness, by Dr. Ken Baker (tithebarn.wordpress.com/2021/07/15/belongingness-5/)

So when people in a church community ignore or reject fellow members who are seeking fellowship and reconciliation, they are violating the Word of God. And oh, how painful and unnatural such rejection, from fellow members, is!

We belong. We are known and loved in Christ's Body.