Day Two Hundred Fifty-Three “Fingerprints”
No two people have ever been found to have the same fingerprint; ponder that thought for a moment. Identical twins, who can share the same DNA, cannot duplicate each other’s fingerprints. Fingerprints develop from the ridge patterns on the tip on each finger. Those papillary ridges form pressure on a baby’s tiny fingers while still in the womb and those prints will not alter with growth or age. All fingerprints consist of loops, which begin at one side of the finger, curve, then exit the other side; whorls, which are circular or spiral patterns; and arches, which slope upward and downward resembling narrow mountains. And the pattern formed is uniquely yours. The practice of using those subtle prints as a means of identification, referred to as dactyloscopy, is an indispensable tool used universally by law enforcement and forensic scientists.
At the cusp of each a new year, as I face the challenge of reading through my Bible once again, I am prone to view that task as daunting… sixty-six books, hundreds of pages, difficult subject matter at times, and all of those endless genealogies. But as I read through the first few chapters, I am always reminded of this awesome truth, our God is not some distant cosmic force, impersonal, watching our lives as a detached spectator. God’s divine fingerprints are clearly visible in the lives of those Bible characters whose biographies are laid bare before us in those sacred pages.
Did God not walk with Adam “in the garden in the cool of the day,” and seek out Noah, a just man standing faithful in the midst of a corrupt culture, handing him an Ark blueprint from heaven so that he and his family could ride high above the flood waters. Did God not assure Noah’s safety as “the LORD shut him in,” personally closing the door of the Ark to protect Noah from those judgment waters. And it was God Who would lead the patriarch Abram to the land of promise, selecting him to be a father of nations and a channel of blessing to all of mankind. These examples do not paint of picture of a detached deity, but the fingerprints of a God Who loves, directs, and cares for His creations. This God Who showed Himself strong to Adam, Noah, and Abram is still alive and well today.
If God appears distant and detached to me, of one fact I can be confident, it was I who moved, not God. The God Who placed the galaxies in place desperately wants His fingerprints evident in every area of my life. May this year be overflowing with God’s fingerprint in my life, bold evidence of a God in total control of my being.
Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
God, how marvelous the thought that You, the Master of creation, would want to direct and guide the life of a wretch like me. Help me to be aware of Your presence in my life, Your precious fingerprints of love.
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