A fingerprint is an amazing thing. Webster's Dictionary defines a fingerprint as "an impression made for purposes of identification." Every person has a unique fingerprint. No two people in the world have the exact same fingerprint. God created each of us special, down to our very fingerprints. As I thought about this the other day, I got to thinking about how God also created us with spiritual fingerprints.
The thing I've realized because of my sickness is life is short. No one knows when how long they have on this earth. Those who aren't sick often take for granted the fact they will live until they are old. Yet no one is guaranteed to live until they're 100. Life is precious and it doesn't take much for it to come to end. My family was reminded of this truth just last week.
My sister and her family went on vacation two weeks ago with her in-laws. They came back a day early because her father-in-law wasn't feeling well. He went to the doctor and was immediately sent to the hospital and put in ICU. He had pneumonia in both lungs. The next day, he was put on a ventilator. It's been two weeks, and he just now came off the ventilator. For a while, the doctors weren't sure he would come off the ventilator at all. To say my family was taken by surprise is an understatement.
As my brother-in-law's father finally starts to heal, I can't help but think about all God has called us to do. Whether we are in full-time ministry, work from our homes, or work in a market where Christianity is not welcome, we have all been called to minister to others and point them to Christ. There will come a day when we will leave this earth behind. And when that happens, it won't matter if we were rich, poor, married, or single. What will matter is the difference we made and the lives we touched. When the day comes for me to leave this world behind, I truly hope my spiritual fingerprint will be left all over the world. What about you?
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." ~ Acts 1:8
(c) November 2, 2011