“Where I belong…” – Hercules Thoughts Part 1

So, I wrote this several weeks ago, but got busy and never got around to actually posting it.

Regardless, here it is now.

Last week, I watched the movie Hercules for the first time.  Overall, I enjoyed it!

One song that caught my attention… here are the lyrics:

Go the Distance:

I have often dreamed

Of a far-off place

Where a great warm welcome

Will be waiting for me

Where the crowds will cheer

When they see my face

And a voice keeps saying

This is where I'm meant to be

I will find my way

I can go the distance

I'll be there someday

If I can be strong

I know ev'ry mile

Will be worth my while

I would go most anywhere

to find where I belong

As I watched Hercules climb up mountains, and gaze into the future, with eyes full of conviction about figuring out how to find the place where he belongs, my mind started processing his words.  As a frequent traveler, I am constantly reminded that this world is not my home, and we are merely passing through.

In addition, I often find myself in situations where I ask myself, ‘Where am I, and how did I get here.’ Even though I know the logistical answer, sometimes, I don't know where exactly I fit, and especially don't know how to categorize different aspects of my life that seem so radically different from each other.

Anyway, back to the movie.  So, Hercules ends up ‘finding where he belongs’ in the arms of the woman that he loves.  He even refuses immortal eternity to be with her.  Wow, what a guy, huh?  And whoa, she must be an incredible girl, huh?

Naturally, I start to over-analyze the message that is communicated.  Like the message of many movies, the idea is promoted that we belong in the arms of another human being.  And for most, that is an incredible gift that God delights to give to us!!

But I am realizing that if is the goal to which I am striving, if that is the highest desire I have, if it is the basis for my decisions….then – wow – I have some seriously low expectations and misaligned priorities!  It doesn’t mean it can’t or shouldn’t be a desire of mine.  But it simply cannot occupy the place where only something else belongs.

My expectations must be set on a Love that is wider, longer, higher and deeper (Ephesians 3:18).  My eyes must be fixed on the only place, and in the only One with whom I truly belong (2 Cor 4:18).  In other words, if I find myself blindly taking up residence in any other place, unconsciously lost in anyone else’s arms, or drowned in my own self-created fantasy, at best, I will always feel a bit unattached, just a smidge out of the loop, not fully connected, and ultimately dissatisfied.

The deepest and truest sense of belonging comes only from the Person who has my name written on His hand (Isaiah 49:16), from the One who knew me before I was born (Jeremiah 1:5), and loves me more than anyone else ever could (Isaiah 43:4).

The gifts God gives us, including the love of others, can only illustrate to us a fraction of the Love that comes from God Himself.  But they can lead us back to that Place.  That place where we fit perfectly.  In His arms. In His Presence.  That is the place where we belong.