Fingerprints
Fingerprints
I had to be fingerprinted last month by an FBI agent.
No, I hadn’t done anything wrong. I was being fingerprinted because the president of the United States nominated me to serve on the National Council on Disability. What an honor! But after the nomination the FBI had to do a routine—and exhaustive—investigation on me. That meant fingerprints.
The polite G-man had problems with me. Yes, I cooperated to the best of my ability, but have you ever tried fingerprinting a lady who hasn’t used her fingers in twenty years? Silly question. Obviously not. And I didn’t think it would be any big deal. But that poor agent had one big headache trying to get prints off the pads of my fingers.
Finally, after four or five tries, he looked at me, shook his head and said, “Lady, I’m sorry, but you just don’t have any tread on these fingers of yours.”
I didn’t know what he was talking about until he turned my hand so I could get a good, close look at my own fingers. He was right. I’d never taken the time to examine them before, but the pads of my fingers were super smooth with hardly any ridges at all.
I figured he had run into this sort of thing before, but he said, “No.” The only folks without prints would be people who never used their hands. The agent went on to explain that ridges on fingers deepen with use. The hands of bricklayers, carpenters, typists, and home-makers who do a lot of dishes always have good prints. (I imagine diligent safecrackers would, too!)
Funny. I would have thought just the opposite. It seemed to me that hard work would wear off good fingerprints. But not so. Hard work enhances them.
I think it’s the same for people who pour themselves out in service to the Lord. We tend to think Christians who charge full speed ahead, who give themselves in tireless service, will wear themselves thin. They’ll burn out, we tell ourselves. They’ll dry up. They’ll give themselves to the point of having nothing to give.
I don’t think so. Hard work—when done by the power and grace of God—enhances life. Our lives are built up in Christ as we serve Him, not worn down as we might think. Does a fruit tree injure itself by bearing bountiful fruit? Do we question the health of a vine loaded with grapes?
Look at the apostle Paul. He says in 2 Timothy 4 that he was being poured out like a drink offering. He had fought the good fight, he had finished the race.
But being used up like that didn’t deplete him. Paul was not worn out. His spirit was as strong and great in the Lord Jesus as ever. He was never more complete. Life was never as full. And nobody had any trouble tracing his life, identifying his walk with the Lord.
So don’t be afraid to give of yourself. If you’re tempted to be a shrinking violet in Christ’s kingdom, then you will surely shrivel, leaving no prints, no evidence, no means of identifying Jesus to others. No one will be able to trace your walk or follow your steps.
So get in there today and leave fingerprints—good, easy-to-identify fingerprints for God—on everything you do.
If you’re ever on trial for being a follower of the Lord Jesus, make sure the prosecution has lots of evidence.