I Don’t Belong Here

What is the one thing everyone wants?

When you ask someone, “What do you want the most in life,” you get a few answers.

Success. Money. Good health. Marriage. A job they love.

But if you wait long enough, and they’re truly honest with you, they’ll always say one thing we all resonate with.

To be accepted as we are.

We all want to be loved without having to be anything other than ourselves. We want to be a part of something – a family, a friend group, a romantic relationship – where we are totally accepted. Our biggest fears revolve around rejection and being an outcast.

We want to belong.

I have experienced such rejection that I questioned my very worth as a human being. I have been hurt and turned away for things out of my control. But, I have also experienced belonging that fills my soul to the brim. I have been loved so unconditionally that I lost sight of my insecurities.

I desire to belong and to be accepted far more than to be an outcast. In fact, being rejected is one of my greatest fears.

So, what do I do when I’m told that as a Christian these are the very things that I have to embrace?

Philippians 3:20 says,

“…but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Hebrews 13:14 says,

“For we do not have an enduring city here; instead we seek the one to come.”

These are only two of many like this. Over and over again I’m told that as a follower of Jesus, I will be an outcast. I will suffer rejection and hate simply because of my faith. I will not belong.

Although I have suffered rejection, I have never been an outcast. I have never felt as if I didn’t belong anywhere.

That is, until my time here in Ecuador.

I don’t speak the language.

I am white, blonde, and have blue eyes.

I have to be careful about what I eat and drink.

I don’t have my own family here.

I don’t belong in this culture, honestly.

Don’t get me wrong, I love this place with my whole heart. The people are wonderful. I have been welcomed with open, loving arms. But, I still don’t belong here. It’s not my home.

Now I understand what these verses are getting at.

Just like Cuenca isn’t my earthly home, this world isn’t my eternal home. I am here and I am thriving, yes, but this isn’t where I belong. I have work to do, people to serve, and love to share while I’m here and God expects me to be faithful in those ways. But, He also doesn’t want me living as if there’s no life afterward. I should always be thinking of tomorrow in light of eternity.

I love these two verses especially because they talk of looking to what is to come. No, I don’t belong here, but what a gift that is when I have heaven to look forward to.

I can embrace being an outcast here on earth because I already belong to God’s kingdom in heaven.