Is it really YOUR life?

..Oh, we are not as strong, as we think we are!
  Rich Mullins

You would have to be pretty old or a fan of British early 60's rock to remember the
Animals' song, "It's my life."  I remember it most vividly being played in a subterranean
bar on the campus of the Ohio State University called the North Heidelberg. The song
is a blues/ rock mantra about being able to do what we want with our own life. That
theme is still prevalent in our society especially in ads that suggest that something will
improve our lives if we eat, use, drink... it.

Well, we are born here into this world with a set span of years and each of us has
been granted a path of life which makes us individuals unlike everyone else, unique, as
it were. We have also been granted the ability to makes decisions, some call it free
will. Society establishes points in our years when we become independent of our parents
and strike out on our own paths.

However, we are created beings. This life that we live belongs, if you will, to our creator...
we are His. I think this calls into question the whole concept of our ownership of this body,
this soul, this life. 

When an artist paints a landscape and the work comes to a creative end, he or she will
sign that piece of art, usually in a bottom corner establishing who it is who brought this art work into existence. 

Our lives are embossed with the signature of our sovereign God. He is the one who created
us, breathed life into our nostrils, began the beating of our hearts. We have been given a
name known only to Him that we will hear and recognize when we are brought into His 
holy presence. Yes, "our" life is really His life. 

This realization establishes some very different goals for one who understands the reality
of the life we live. Suddenly it becomes important to acknowledge and be thankful for
each day we live, to actively praise and glorify He whom we belong to, to live this
life gratefully in light of the grace and love He has shown for us. We are His because this
is the way life is supposed to be lived.

So throw open your arms and accept the reality that you are a cherished member of the
family of God! Embrace Him and Love Him with all your heart and soul. The way it is
supposed to be! God's way!