I spent 49 years of my life as a commercial printer, but little did I realize that when I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I also became a printer in the spiritual sense. Did you know that every Christian is a “printer”, at least in the spiritual sense?
1 Peter 2:5 says, “Ye also, as lively (living) stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”
The word for stones is “lithos” in the original Greek language. Lithos is where we get the word “lithography”. Lithography is the art of reproducing an image carved into a stone and applied to paper. First, ink is rolled onto the carved image and then paper is placed on top. Pressure is put onto the paper, causing the image to be reproduced on the paper.
The word, “print” comes from an old French word, “preinte”, which means impression. Every Christian is a printing stone who makes an impression upon others. The Artist is the Holy Spirit, who causes the image of Jesus Christ within us through the ongoing process of sanctification after receiving Jesus as Savior. We grow in times of trials when we trust in the Lord. As we grow, oily ink, representing the anointing by the Holy Spirit, is applied to our lives and others can see Jesus reproduced through us.
So, if you have received Jesus as your Savior, you are in the business of lithography. You are a printer! When others come in contact with you and you witness to them, the Holy Spirit acts as the “ink” to reproduce in them that which abides in you, i.e., justification, sanctification, and soon, glorification when Jesus returns.
Not all will accept it, and that is a shame. But our divine command is to at least make the Gospel known to them so they can make a decision.
Keep on printing!!!!