I grew up in a genre where roughly 5-10 % of my peers had a tattoo. According to a recent Pew Research Poll, 45 million Americans now have at least one tattoo, spending $1.65 billion annually. Anyone who visits one of the 21,000 parlors across the country should expect to pay a minimum of $45 for a small tattoo or $150 for a large one on average. If you are noticing those around, tattoos appear almost any where from an arm, leg, neck, shoulder or face. Sometimes I wonder, why don’t I have one. Yet, a still small voice revealed I have an internal tattoo on my heart.
When the days of my youth wore off in college, I took the words of Joshua 1:8 to heart. Something deep inside my soul could not run from God any longer. Thus, I began to examine passages like Proverbs 4:23 and Deuteronomy 6:5-9. What I found initially was painful, a crooked and deceitful heart, Jeremiah 17:9. Despite this grave reality, there is a remedy, a spiritual ointment to cleanse your heart, Psalm 119:9-11. Therefore, I have discovered a lighted trail, Psalm 119:105, illuminated by the Word of God. As I read, ponder its meaning and meditate on the truth within each passage, a spiritual tattoo is forming on my heart.
In his sermon on the mount, Jesus eludes to tattoos of the heart in Matthew 6:19-24. Although, there is a catch, the things you treasure influence your heart. If you are not careful, tattoos of the heart can be replaced by a world full of greed, materialism and ruin. Regardless of your external appearance or any tattoo that you display, the condition of your heart will sway you toward evil or good, Luke 6:45. This is what Stephen saw in religious leaders during the first century, Acts 7:51-52. Therefore, if you want a tattoo of the heart, strive to fulfill Galatians 5:7, proving yourself to be a disciple of Jesus, John 15:7-8. Come to God’s tattoo parlor by spending time reading the Bible daily!
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 