His Imprint

My husband and I recently visited the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT. This is a fabulous place if you want to see some of the most beautiful ocean creatures that God has created.  All of the animals have been rescued for one reason or another.  They bring them in and care for them and get them ready to be released back into the wild.  Occasionally there are those who are unable to go back into their natural habitat.  In the penguin area we learned that they recently had several penguins that could not be released.  They call it "human imprinting".   Because these animals were rescued at such a young age, the animal believes that their rescuers are their parents. They have the human imprinting upon them and they just are not able to go out into the wild on their own.  We also learned this while we visited a bird sanctuary this summer.  When people find injured birds and take them home, the birds become so used to the humans taking care of them that they lose their ability to live on their own. It can happen to any animal that is taken out of its natural environment and is subject to human dependence.

The word "imprint" means to "brand, engrave, etch, infix indelibly or permanently". (Webster).  In Ephesians 3:14-21 the Apostle Paul is praying for the church.  Verse 19 says "and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God." (NASB).  True Christianity is not an outward set of laws but an inward change.  When Christ enters our being through faith, He imprints His very nature into us.  It will control our thoughts, emotions and our wills if we allow it.  Isaiah 49:16 says that we are "engraved" in the palms of His hands.  This word engraved means "to cut in or on". (Strong's).  Most of us have seen the old TV westerns where they used to round up the cattle and then brand them. Ouch! But, it showed ownership.  There wasn't any doubt who that cow belonged to.  It is the same with His children.  We are branded into the palms of His hands and He is branded into our lives.  There should be no doubt to the world Who we belong to!  Once Christ comes in, there is new ownership.  There is no turning back for us.  We are imprinted with His very nature- the nature of God- all the fullness of God.

If we are truly His, living in full obedience to Him, totally submitted and dependent on Him for our survival, we will be like those penguins who were not able to go back to their old life. They had become so dependent on their human care givers, that they no longer could or even desired to go back.  This should be the state of every child of God.  We should be so dependent on God that we can not survive in our old life- nor even have a desire to do so.  There is no turning back.  There is only going forward in Christ.

Imprinted in His hands--- His nature imprinted into our lives.

~ ~ Donna