I grew up in a housing project. There was a group of older kids that hung around the common stairs that lead up to our small apartment.
I remember once they started yelling things at me as I passed them on the stairs. There were many of them, only one of me. I tried to ignore it, but they kept it up for a few days.
Then I went up the stairs one day and one of my brothers, Rick, happened to be visiting my mother. He was the type of guy you just did not mess with. Rick heard the yelling, saw what was going on and immediately confronted them.
All he did was walk out, look at them and shout, "Do you have something to say now?"
Apparently they did not. The taunting stopped after that. I was Rick's brother, belonged to his family, you don't mess with Rick's brothers.
In a similar way Psalm 100 says,
"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100:1-3 (NIV)
We have reason to rejoice because we belong to one greater than ourselves. He is the Lord of all creation, and we are his.
The Psalmist is exhorting us this morning to grasp two things. First "Know that the Lord is God." God, the creator, the almighty, all powerful Holy One. God!
In the movie "Oh God", God gives John Denver his card. All his card said was "God". That's all it needed to say, that sums it up.
Next the Psalmist tells us "It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture."
Know who God is and know who we are in relation to Him.
Let's allow that truth to settle into our hearts this morning. Think about that, what does it mean to belong to the Living God?
