Belonging

John 18:8-9

Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, “I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.”

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You belong to me
Can it be, honey, that you're not sure

"You Belong to Me" written by Carly Simon and Michael McDonald recorded by The Doobie Brothers on "Livin' on the Fault Line" and a year later by Carly Simon on "Boys in the Trees." This version recorded by Michael McDonald.

Belonging is a wonderful thing unless it becomes terrifying, and the line between the two can be very, very narrow. There are many songs that eerily straddle this line. Sarah McLachlan's "Possession" was written about a fan who stalked her. She used some of the words from his own letters that takes creepy to a whole new level. The Police's "Every Breath You Take" creepy and the number of people who use it to describe their own relationships have either failed to look hard at the lyric or are themselves frightening stalkers.

"You Belong to Me" belongs in this group. Like the other songs, the melody is wonderful and lilting with just a bit of menace. It also has that one little lyric that when stretched becomes evidence at the trial. What this song is about is a singer who has been dumped by their lover. The other has found someone new in their life and is on their way to the "happily ever after." This isn't good for the singer. The singer wants their lover back. Shoot, you can't be someone else's lover, you belong to me.

You belong to me, can it be that you're not sure?

What's different about Jesus is that first of all, we do belong to him. We belong to God. The difference is that God is not a possessive lover. In Jesus, God emptied himself. He did not use his holy status to lord over us. He used it to save us. He gave himself so that not one of us was lost.

Yes, we belong to God, but it is God who gave himself for us. It isn't that God hoards us, God gives himself to us and everything to our life.