I spent 30 years of my life as a printer and loved every minute of it. But little did I realize that when I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, that I became a printer in the spiritual sense. In fact, 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 onto 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 by 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 are able to see Jesus reproduced through us.
But the story doesn’t end there. If every believer is a “printing stone,” then every day gives us a new opportunity to bear the impression of Jesus to the world around us. Printing stones are not meant to sit on a shelf. They were designed to produce, to express, and to reveal the image engraved upon them. In the same way, God has not called us to hide the work He is doing in us, but to let His character be seen in our words, our attitudes, and our daily choices.
Think about it: the printing process requires pressure. Without pressure, the image cannot be transferred. And so it is in our walk with God. The very pressures we dislike—the trials, the disappointments, the stretching of our faith—are often the moments when the clearest impression of Jesus is pressed onto the “paper” of someone else’s life. People are watching us, even when we don’t realize it. They notice how we respond under pressure, how we speak when we are weary, and how we treat others when life is not going our way.
If Christ is truly being formed in us, those moments become divine opportunities for His likeness to shine through.
The Apostle Paul said, “We are epistles… known and read of all men” (2 Cor. 3:2). That means your life is a letter, and God is the One writing it. The Holy Spirit, like a master Artist, continues to shape, carve, and refine the image of Jesus within our hearts. The anointing—like that oily ink—flows over the surface of our lives, filling every carved line and every place the Lord has worked on us, causing His character to stand out more clearly than our own.
And what is the result?
A life that reproduces Jesus.
A life that leaves a godly impression.
A life that carries the fragrance and power of the One who saved us.
So yes, I spent 30 years as a natural printer—but now I realize the far greater calling God had in mind. He made me, and every believer, a spiritual printer, created to reproduce the image of Christ into a world desperate for His likeness.
May we allow the Master Artist to continue His work in us.
May we embrace the pressures that press His image more deeply into our hearts.
And may those around us—our families, our friends, and even strangers—see Jesus printed clearly and beautifully through our lives.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
—John 3:30