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Henri Nouwen said that the basic question of the spiritual life is: Who do you belong to? Everyone belongs to someone or something. (Reject the myth of spiritual and psychological independence.)
The best answer is: I am my Beloved's and He is mine. I belong to God.
Which means: I do not belong to other people and what they think of me. I do not belong to my clothes or car or home or yard or material things. Things do not define me. I am defined by God and what God thinks of me.
I am somebody, because God considers me somebody. I am made in God's image, and Christ, the hope of glory, indwells me. Therefore, I am significant.
Howard Thurman asks: "To what do I appeal when I want to convince myself that I am somebody?... When such a man wants to convince himself that he is somebody, his appeal, most often, is to those things that are of temporary and passing significance." (40 Day Journey With Howard Thurman, 22)
Then Thurman asks: "I am putting the question quite personally this morning: In what do you find your security?"
