THE FINGERPRINTS OF GOD

 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV)

                I recently finished reading Lee Strobel’s book, “The Case for a Creator.” Lee did a deep dive into the questions surrounding the origin and workings of our world. He shows how, as we dig deeper into the mysteries of our world, the evidence points to intelligent design and ultimately to God.  

                The most common explanation of the origin of our world is known as the Big Bang Theory. It was first proposed in 1927 by Belgian Catholic priest, theoretical physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and professor of physics George Lamaitrie. His theory has become the prominent concept of how our world began.

                In many ways, the Big Bang theory correlates with what is written, in poetic form, in Genesis. What baffles and amazes those who study these things is the precise fine tuning of our universe. It is so precise that it is statistically impossible for it to have happened by random chance. The vast universe in which we live declares that there is meaning and purpose in our world. Rather than an accident of undirected chance, it is a masterfully put together, finely tuning environment suited for the creation and sustaining of life. Those who have committed their lives to the study of our universe are more and more embracing the uniqueness of the earth and its place in the universe.

                If we zero in more closely on the earth itself, we begin to see that God has left his fingerprints all over it. There is a period in geological history known as the Cambrian period. During this time there was something called the Cambrian explosion, where vastly diverse species of animals appeared on the earth, seemingly all at once. This explosion created a world full of diversity. This world could have been a mono-chromatic world, but instead, it is a world immersed in color. This world could have been populated with relatively few creatures, but instead, we live in a world filled with a vast array of very different creatures. The diversity of our world points to the creativity of God.

                If we look in the mirror, we can see the fingerprints of God as well. The Bible tells us that we were created uniquely in the image of God. There are many aspects of what it means to be human that reflect this concept. But one of them that stands out from the rest is that we are self-conscious beings. We are not only aware of our surrounding, but we understand that we are separate from them. We have a consciousness that cannot be explained completely by our biology. We do not just act instinctually, but react in a variety of ways with our environment. We can think about the past, present and future. We can think about the consequences and the benefits of our actions and choose the course we desire to take. Of all the creatures on the face of the earth, we humans have the ability to change and transform our environment like none other.

                We know that the fingerprints of every human being are unique. But our fingerprints are not obvious at first sight. They must be revealed. God’s fingerprints are unique. They are not obvious at first, but when we take the time to look closely, we can see them all over our world. There are many in our world today, who for various reasons, are trying to convince us that our world is just the outcome of random chance, and has no ultimate meaning and purpose. But if we look at the world around us and within us, the evidence points in a vary different direction. We have been intentionally created to know God and to be known by Him. God has placed his fingerprints on our world and on our heart.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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 1:18-20 (NIV)