As we walked through my old neighborhood, I had to pause my conversation several times to respond to greetings: the parking attendant, the street vendor, the clothing store clerk. “You know everyone,” my friend exclaimed.  

I remembered how we had put down roots in that neighborhood, getting to know the people who made up vital aspects of our life there. After living in that city block for several years, we were a part of their neighborhood. In a sense, we belonged there because they welcomed us in. 

For cross-cultural workers, the human longing to belong somewhere becomes complicated. We don’t completely belong in our host country or culture and yet, through our engagement with a different culture, we often no longer completely belong in our “home” culture. Sometimes we can feel a little like strangers wherever we go.

Paul spoke to this idea of belonging in his letter to the Ephesian believers when he reminded them that they “are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.” (2:19) When we are with other believers, we are not outsiders but family. We belong to the household of God. We have been welcomed in through the blood of the Lamb. 

I know it’s not always easy to feel that we belong in whichever church group we sit among. I know there are differences that can cause disunity. When I feel on the “outside,” I am comforted by remembering that I belong to God’s family because I’ve been adopted as His child (Ephesians 1:3-6). I now have a rightful place in His family and am home with Him. I remember that Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for me that I might be with Him (John 14:3). 

We don’t belong to the world or the systems of the world. We belong to the family of God, in all its varieties. My sisters, we are family and where I am, you are most welcome. 

Ahlan w’ sahlan (welcome).