In the last post we talked a lot about why people get tattoos. But I didn’t mention the primary reason I get tattoos. For me a tattoo is more then anything an expression of who I am at a point in my life. For me the process of getting a tattoo is something like this.
- Inspiration – I often find an image or an idea for a tattoo. If it’s an idea I try to create it with my limited artistic ability.
- Archive – I take these Ideas and archive them in a folder called tattoo ideas. Most of these will never make it on my body
- Meditation – as I live my life I often think about who I am what I’m about.
- Emergence – As life goes on sometimes a tattoo begins to form under the skin. There is a theme in my life that needs to be communicated to me and the world around me in a profound way. The tattoo becomes a part of me, although at this stage it is still invisible.
- Unveiling – This is when the tattoo actually becomes real. I get the ink in my body and the world can see it.
This is all well and good for the time being but after the last post Ed brought up an interesting point.
What happens when devotion changes? What to do when it doesn’t mean what it used to? Then is it just like those favorite jeans or old video games that you just keep for the coolness, or for what it used to make you feel like? Things I have thought about, not that I have a problem with tattoos, but was wondering what would one who has many do with this possible outcome?
-Eduardo
If you are getting a tattoo because you think it looks cool, or for fun, or for all the reasons we talked about in the last post this is a real issue, however I think if you get a tattoo because it is truly a manifestation of who you are at a given time it can work. You do need to go in with the understanding that this tattoo is simply a snapshot of a moment in life (a pain, a lesson, a devotion, an element of your life that makes you you). It can change, but if we are always afraid of how things will work out in the end we will never move, we become incapable of standing up for anything, taking a risk, or letting the possibility of failure set us free to live our lives.
Tattooed Jesus
So this whole time you’ve been asking what any of this has to do with Jesus. I wasn’t even sure myself when I started writing this. All I knew was that every time I got a tattoo I felt close to God, and in that there seemed to be a resonance of the way of Christ.
Jesus’ actions were never motivated by human opinion. The danger of regret about a decision didn’t register anywhere on the radar when he plunged head long into a life that would culminate in his execution. WHY?
Jesus knew who he was, and knew that the only reason for his being here was to be who he had come to be. He got his marching orders from a heavenly call not the cultural expectations of the culture around him. He lived here for a brief time, but in that time he changed everything. He didn’t hold back and lived every moment with his identity and call in mind.
I don’t claim to be anything close to Jesus in my own life. But I do hope to be more like him every day. I want my life to glorify God, proclaim what he has done in my life, and reflect the calling Gad has given me.
Like it or hate it. I feel called to be tattooed. For me it is one of the most profound ways I worship God. As a friend of mine often says to me,
“Your body is the temple of the lord, decorate!”
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