Have you ever sat down and actually looked at your fingerprints? Up until a few days ago, I never have and I was interested to learn more about fingerprints since they all seem to be so unique from one person to the next. I did a little bit of research and here are some of the fun facts that I gathered:

• No two fingerprints have ever been found alike in many billions of human and automated computer comparisons.
• Other visible human characteristics will change considerably with age, but the fingerprints are unchanging.
• A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger.

For some reason, this is just so cool to me that something so simple is so interesting and some people can go a lifetime without ever even thinking about it.

As I was reading these facts about fingerprints, each one individually reminded me of different verses from the Bible. Let’s take them one at a time.

There have been billions upon billions of people on this world and no two fingerprints have ever matched. Wow………. I know if I had anything to do with picking out fingerprints for all new babies, at some point I would start having to reuse some prints, because I would run out of ideas or just get tired of putting in the thought to making each one unique. God isn’t like that, though. He takes the time to thoughtfully pick out just the right fingerprint for each individual. Psalm 139:14 was one of the first verses that struck me when thinking about this and it states:

Psalm 139:14 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.

How awesome is it that we praise a God that takes the time to wonderfully make each one of us?

The second fingerprint fun fact talks about how other visible human characteristics change, but the fingerprint doesn’t change over time. As we get older, our ears and nose actually never stop growing (I read that on the internet so it has to be true!!) and many other facial features will change, but our fingerprint will identify us for the rest of our lives. Just as our fingerprint will always identify us, we too can stand firm in knowing that the word of God can always be our cornerstone in our faith and is unchanging.

Isaiah 40:8 English Standard Version (ESV)

⁸ The grass withers, the flower fades,
    but the word of our God will stand forever.

The last fingerprint fact really hit home with me when I sat there and thought about it. If my fingerprints are impressions made by the ridges on my fingers, then that means that I will leave my mark on anything I touch. This is actually one of the top ways that crimes are solved, because they are able to match the fingerprints left on the crime scene to someone on file. So if I’m going to leave my mark on things I touch, one day I would like to look back at everything with my fingerprints on it and be pleased. Right now, you would probably find more prints on my golf clubs and cell phone than anything else in my house. How great would it be if I could dust my Bible for prints and find them on every page? I don’t know about everyone else, but there are a few chapters in there that would probably be pretty bare. I need to remedy this and can do so with encouragement from Colossians 3:23.

Colossians 3:23 English Standard Version (ESV)

²³ Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

My challenge here to everyone is threefold. First, take joy in the fact that God took the time to craft you to be exactly who you are, unlike anyone else to ever live. Second, rest in the gospel and know that, just like your fingerprints, the word of God never changes. Lastly, make sure you are leaving your mark on all the right things.