I didn't think I'd ever felt compelled to be owned by someone else. At least not in the sense that would make me enslaved to them. I'm a pretty independent gal.
But I have yearned to belong. In fact, like most people, I've worked hard to belong at times. I've dressed to fit in, joined the club, spoken the language, followed the rules, signed on the dotted line and laughed like I knew what we were all laughing about...even when I really didn't. You, too?
Fact is, God created us with something like a magnet in our soul that draws us to something which can possess us. It can manifest differently in each of our lives, but there is an inner desire in each of us to be owned, ruled and possessed. We long to belong, but more than that, we long to be ruled.
Even God's people cried out for someone to rule and reign over them when, in fact, they had no real need for such an arrangement (See 1 Samuel 8:4-9 & Judges 8:22). God was their King, and He was certainly sufficient.
God is our King, too. That magnet in our souls that searches for someone to claim us as his own, to call the shots, to protect, to love, to rule and to be jealous over us? That magnet is meant to draw us to the very heart of God, our one true King.
Unfortunately, I've been confused on that point at times. I've both desired to be possessed by another and to rule over another. I've wanted to have a king...and I've wanted to be the king.
And I've become angry and resentful when my "subjects" have banished me as their king. And I've pouted when my "king" no longer wanted to play "kingdom" with this damsel in distress.
Maybe I've just now been really vulnerable and hung myself out on the gallows as the only sick peasant in the kingdom...
But my bet is that if you really examine your human relationships you'll find that you've gotten just as confused as I have at times about who is the King and who is the subject. Let me clarify. Better yet, let Him clarify:
Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Psalm 100:3
This is the second scripture in my Soul Satisfying Menu that I meditate on each day. It reminds me that I am indeed possessed...by a loving and gracious and pursuing and jealous God. He does not desire to share my allegiance or my heart with anyone or anything else. He wants me to operate each day with full awareness that I am His.
It also reminds me, however, that no one belongs to me. Not my husband or my children or my friends or my mentees or my employees (if I had any) or anyone else. No one is called to serve or bow to me. No one is to pledge undying allegiance to me. No one is to put me first. (Of course I understand that my husband is to fulfill his commitment to me and my children, when they were younger, were to obey me, but God has even encapsulated those relationships within the parameters of ultimate allegiance to Him. see Exodus 20:3-6)
Hey, maybe you're not confused on this issue as I sometimes am. Maybe the magnetic force in your soul always operates according to the Owner's manual and never malfunctions by drawing you into unhealthy relationships. Praise the Lord! You have been spared a messy dilemma.
But if you've ever fallen into the trap of either serving another as master or demanding such high allegiance from someone else, may I suggest that you commit Psalm 100:3 to memory...and to heart? And fortunately it's not a shaming verse; it's an affirming and loving promise. You belong! You belong to One who has sought you out, paid the price, redeemed you from a pit, commissioned you to service, provided your every need, delights in your companionship and prepares a place for you in His coming kingdom. You belong! And, no, no one belongs to you. But, trust me, that's best. You can't handle it and neither can I. But God can.
Can anyone relate? Have you been confused on this issue, too? Let's pray for healthy relationships and strong commitments to our one true King.
Labels: meditation, memorization, My Daily Bread, relationships
