Belonging

"My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples," Isaiah 56:7.

Thus saith the Lord. Yeah. That's what God says. So. His house. His temple. His dwelling. But, really, more than that. His house. That is, all those people that belong to him. (Too, it includes all those beings like angels and other monsters that we humans barely know about but that make us glance over our shoulders in dark times. Even us non-superstitious types.) A belonging place for all, all, among whom God dwells. And who are these people comprising the Lord's belonging place? Those who keep justice. Who do righteousness. Who keep hands from evil things. Even if it's an outcast. Or a foreigner. Or a eunuch. Or anyone! Anyone who chooses the things that please God. Who holds fast his covenant. And even more people to come than whom God has already collected. Sky kingdom.

Visiting with a brother or sister today, we recognize a belonging place of prayer with each other. And, indeed together, we offer prayers of thanksgiving in the new covenant of Jesus' sacrifice.