Beloved and "Belonged"

My friend Rick sent me a sappy picture montage of babies and their pets. The juxtaposition of a Bull Mastiff and an infant is striking. The older Rick gets the softer he becomes, methinks.

At the bottom of his email was this: "Within the heart of every stray lies the singular desire to be loved." He's right, I think. The desire is deeper, though. More than just to be loved, I think there is the desire within this "strays" heart to belong. We want to be adopted into God's family. We need to know that we're His.

When Paul writes about my adoption as God's son, my pulse accelerates a couple of beats. I am His! I belong to the Family!

"How great is the love of the Father that we should be called sons of God, and that is what we are!"