Today is the anniversary of the first Postage stamp.

In 1840, Britain issued the very first postage stamp. It bore the profile of Queen Victoria and was known as the “Penny Black” because it was printed in black and cost a penny. Before the advent of the postage stamp, the person receiving the letter was the one who had to pay for the delivery costs. Since the rates were so high, many people refused to accept the letters. In fact, some people developed secret codes that they put on the outside of the letter to get around the high costs of postal service. The intended receiver could look at the code, get the message, and refuse delivery of the letter.

Because of this, the British post office decided that postage had to be paid before the letter was delivered. The payment was marked by a small piece of colored paper on the outside of the letter—the stamp! The idea was so popular that the United States adopted the same system, and in 1847 the U.S. Post Office printed its first stamps, a 5-cent stamp picturing Benjamin Franklin and a 10-cent stamp picturing George Washington.

Did you know that you have been stamped? It’s true. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is our guarantee, our stamp, that we belong to God and that we will receive all his benefits (Ephesians 1:13, 14). Because we bear the stamp of the Holy Spirit, we know that salvation is ours, and that we will live forever with Jesus in heaven.

The best news, though, is that the Holy Spirit’s stamp is not only the pre-payment of all that is promised to those who believe in Jesus. Right now Christians we have the power and the comfort of the Holy Spirit living in them. We can depend on the Spirit to guide us and enable us to live as God wants us to while we wait for Jesus’ return.

By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete (2 Corinthians 1:22, The Message.)

To Do

Create your own personal stamp that reflects what your faith in Jesus means to you.

Also on this day . . .

1915—Babe Ruth hit his first major league home run while playing for the Boston Red Sox.

1994—The Chunnel officially opened. The tunnel under the English Channel links England and France.

1997—The Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.