The Fingerprints of God...
The Bible is very candid and direct concerning the existence
of God, "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no
God'" (Psalm 14:1). The apostle Paul at Lystra in Asia
told the crowd that the "living God" whom he preached
"did not leave Himself without witness" (Acts 14:15,
17). The witness or evidence for God can be identified yet today
through His fingerprints.
…On History
The greatest witness of all is the historical evidence of
God's incarnation. We joyously celebrate this at Christmas.
The New Testament-records of the highest integrity and historical
reliability-embody this truth in eyewitness testimony. Matthew
announced that Jesus was the fulfillment The Fingerprints of
God… of the Old Testament prophecy: "'Behold the virgin
shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call
His name Immanuel,' which translated means, 'God with us'"
(Matthew 1:23).
The apostle Paul captured the majestic excitement of this prophecy
in a powerful summary, "But when the fullness of the
time came, God sent forth His Son…" (Gal. 4:4). The
apostle John, with tones of Genesis and eternal significance,
declared: "In the beginning was the Word…and the Word
was God…. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and
we beheld His glory…" (John 1:1, 14).
Through the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, God placed
His unmistakable fingerprints on history. The reality of
"God with us" was affirmed by the apostle Peter who
testified that he "did not follow cleverly devised tales"
when he made known "the power and coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ," but he was an "eyewitness of
His majesty" (2 Peter 1:16). Again, John enthused,
"What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what
we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled,
concerning the Word of Life..." (1 John 1:1).
History is a witness to the reality of God.
…In Creation
God has also revealed Himself through His creation.
The Psalmist declares, "The heavens are telling of the
glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His
hands" (Psalm 19:1). He also refers to nature as "the
work of Thy fingers" (Psalm 8:3). No wonder His fingerprints
can be found there!
Clearly, through the creation of the heavens and the earth,
God placed His unmistakable fingerprints in nature. Highly specified
information systems like the DNA code require that they be sourced
in the activity of a superior Intelligence. This is the point
that the apostle Paul made when he wrote: "For since
the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal
power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood
from what has been made, so that men are without excuse"
(Romans 1:20, NIV).
The created world is a witness to the reality of God.
…By Transformed Lives
Finally, God has left Himself a witness by yet another creation.
The Bible says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
(2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV). The apostle Paul highlights this
in a letter to those who had experienced firsthand that new
life from above: "You yourselves are our testimonial,
written in our hearts and yet open for anyone to inspect and
read. You are an open letter about Christ delivered by and written,
not with pen and ink but with the Spirit of the living God,
engraved not on stone, but on human hearts" (2 Corinthians
3:2-3, Phillips Modern English).
By the miracle of new spiritual birth within those who confess
faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, God manifests His
unmistakable fingerprints in and through us. The Bible says
that "…He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross…for
by His wounds you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24, NASB).
The songwriter expressed this so simply and yet eloquently:
…[T]he hand of Jesus touched me…
And O, the joy that floods my soul;
Something happened, and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole.*
What a privilege to be chosen and touched by God! And our transformed
lives are to be witnesses to His reality. Jesus Himself made
this point with a simple illustration: "And you, like
the lamp, must shed light among your fellows, so that, when
they see the good you do, they may give praise to your Father
in heaven" (Matthew 5:16, NEB).
As Jesus invited 'doubting' Thomas to confirm His resurrection
for himself with the words, "Reach here your finger, and
see My hands," we ask this Christmas season that you look
at the evidence of these three fingerprints for the reality
of God. Again, with Jesus, we exhort you to "be not
unbelieving, but believing" (John 20:25, 27).
*"He Touched Me," by William
J Gaither, ©1963, Gaither Music Co/ASCAP.
