"Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's."
Romans 14:8
A minister visited a church member in the hospital. She had been told that her illness was terminal. The doctor thought her days were few. She admitted her anxiety to her pastor. She said, "What if, when I die, I discover that I'm not right with God?" The pastor quietly responded, "I suppose all of us may have thoughts like that in this situation. We know that you are a believer now. You belong to the Lord. You are His child. Death can't change that. 'Whether we live or die, we are the Lord's." He read it to her from Romans 14:8. The peace of God calmed her anxiety. She died a few weeks later, and she died with confidence in God's Word.
We are God's children by faith in Jesus Christ, and death cannot change that. "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:16). The Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the instrument used to give us security. We take God at His promise. The Holy Spirit confirms it in our hearts with peace. That's our identity in Christ.
Do you have the assurance that you belong to the Lord? Take God at His Word. Trust His promise. Receive the witness of the Holy Spirit. Doubt says, "Sometime I feel like I'm God's child, and sometime I don't." Faith says, "I take God at the promise of His Word, and His Word never changes." The assurance must come from the Word and the Spirit of God. Then, we know for sure, that we are the Lord's.
Father, we belong to You by faith in Christ.
