“… I have called you by name, you are mine.”

Isaiah 43:1

Have you ever heard one engaged person say to the other, “You are mine”? It’s a way of saying, “We belong together. We love each other.”

Have you ever been to an adoption process in a courtroom? Parents promise to call that child their own. The child has gained a new family.

Have you ever seen a baptism? In that moment, God is saying to parents, to sponsors, and especially to the child, “You belong to Me. You are My beloved child.”

Powerful moments, all three. The beloved, the child, the infant (usually) have been changed. They belong to and with another. And, too, the other belongs to them. The beloved replies, “And you are mine.” The adopted one knows who they belong to. And the baptized one says to the living, loving God, “I am yours.”

Neal Orabka
North Las Vegas, NV

Lord God, thank You for making me Yours — one of Your beloved, precious people. Amen.

Reflect: Who do you belong to?

Read: Isaiah 43:1-7 and Psalm 100