GOD’S TATTOO
Read: John 13:35
“In Him you
also…were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit” Ephesians
A recent article in our local
newspaper reported that part of the initiation of members into a Central
American criminal gang involves being tattooed with a distinctive letter and
number. This insignia allows readily
identification by other gang members living in other areas but unfortunately
for gang members, it also alerts immigration authorities to potential
lawbreakers in our midst!
This story prompted me to consider
what might identify us as Christians in our community. There seems to be an abundant of crosses and
rosaries draped over car mirrors and Jesus bumper stickers and license plates
in our area of the country but are these valid identifiers of true followers of
Christ?
After pledging our lives to Christ, we
often imagine we will automatically become Christ-like and are unaware there
will have to be considerable effort exerted by us to even partially attain this
goal. Even the manner of striving must
be learned, some new Christians try so hard to become Christ-like that the task
becomes overwhelming as they discern the many areas of their lives that need
changing. Consequently, they frequently
become discouraged and finally give up and return to their previous style of
living! The missing element in their
endeavors is that they rely on their own efforts and do not allow the Holy
Spirit to take over and let Him guide and strengthen them.
Often this simple prayer offers a good
start: “O Lord, You know that I am
trying to become more like You. Provide me with the strength and guidance as
I pursue this goal. The next step is to
trust the Lord to “fine tune” your responses.
The key is to sincerely want His
assistance and slowly through Bible study, conversations with Christian
friends, and attending church we will become more effective witnesses for
Christ. Keeping in mind the things we
do, the language we use, the patience we show, the degree of honesty we
manifest even when supposedly others would never notice its lack can display
His presence within us.
However, the main key to letting
others know that we are truly followers is based on Jesus’ words when He said,
“They will know you are My disciples by your
love.” And as the Apostle Paul
proclaimed: “Love does no wrong to anyone, that’s why it fully satisfies all of
God’s requirements…Roman’s
So although we may not have a tattoo
to indicate our faith, as the old hymn states, “They will know that we are
Christians by our love”.