Summer is here, and we have found one very effective way to deal with the
heat is at the Dropzone Waterpark in Perris. Last summer we even had season
passes, but this year priorities dictated a month long motorcycle ride first,
and then the park. And last Friday was our first visit, first chance to get
sunburned in places my clothes usually cover and to get those places tanned that
don’t get the sun when riding. A few looks from the younger ones may question
my white hands and body, but my dark arms, riding a motorcycle the second best
way to get a tan. But while taking our first few laps around the lazy river, it
was evident that one thing in particular hadn’t changed, the multitude of people
of all ages who are covered in tattoos. Once a sign of your stint in the Navy,
reflecting your love of mother and country, now they have and are showing up on
all classes of people, and both sexes. This year it seems there were more
attractive young women who had their arms covered with tattoos, legs covered
with sayings and tribal designs, and no matter their size, from petite to NFL
lineman, they are covered. And two things cross my mind, if I was pretty, why
would I do that to my body, and second, so many of them are only revealed in the
shower or at the beach, why get one and hide it? Or worse yet, not hide it?
Years ago a man with a huge anchor on his forearm, guess where he got it, told
me he wished he had never gotten it, for as it faded it now looked like a
bruise, and made his arms look old. How many of these colored tattoos when
fading will give the same illusion? How many already are? Will they someday
have to cover them in shame because they have become unsightly? Too many look
like bruises already, I only hope they aren’t....
But the summer of bad tattoos is being revisited, and from good to bad to
ugly, one woman actually had angel wings tattooed on her back, to Hawaiian
flowers whose colors have run, to old boy friends names crossed out, only the
tattoo remains after all else ends. But unlike my open heart surgery scar,
which also fades, many have no testimony to share about how and why I have it.
I wear my scar as a thing of beauty, to prove Jesus literally gave me a new
heart, a miracle I can prove, I have the scar and the files to prove it. What
are your tats telling us abut you that you want us to know, or not know? And
please, men are just as bad, how many Harley tats are seen on men, with USA
first emblazoned below, getting into their Toyota truck? At least I have never
seen a Prius tattoo, maybe the pain and embarrassment of owning one is to much
to print on your body. And never have a bad speller do your artwork, “NO
REGERTS, “ will leave with many regrets. But still the business flourishes,
they continue to fade, and the message that they send is fading with them.
And of course even the church has joined in, condemning them at first,
using scripture to denounce them as marking the body, forbidden by Mosaic law.
Until you get a cross, or star of David, or a scripture, then it is OK. Again
dividing people over laws, while finding excuses to not get along. “Yes I know
they are wrong,” a pastor once told me, “but I use it to witness.” Covered up
by his long sleeves, not to offend anyone, now that’s love. But he isn’t the
first to cover up after spending time with God. One Moses had a similar
experience after meeting God on a mountain. And retold in 2 Corinthians as an
illustration of our outward showing of God in our lives. No t shirt or tat to
show the world I am a Christian, just a mask, which many still wear today.
When Moses left the presence of God, his face was aglow, and because he
didn’t want to scare the people, he wore a mask to cover it. But as the glow
began to fade, he didn’t want to lose the illusion of the glow of God, so he
kept his mask on to conceal its fading. It was all physical, when God had shown
him a spiritual depth. A mask first to protect the people, drawing attention to
himself, then to hide the fading, to protect his pride. Again drawing attention
to who-himself? An evangelical veil, how foolish to think that a mask could
cover God’s love, or keep people from seeing through the ruse? How many would
love to look under Batman’s mask, but don’t out of respect for who he is, and
never do, yet we give less honor to God in concealing him in our lives, living
behind a cover. Has a whole generation of people learned to hide behind tattoos
because they are afraid to say how they really feel, and what do they do when
the tats fade? More tats, long sleeves, or a mask to hide like Moses did? Do
we really think people are as stupid as Moses did, that they couldn’t see the
heart behind the mask? Do you know God does? What is your mask concealing?
Maybe a simple reminder that Jesus has written his word, himself on our
hearts when we are saved. That from the inside out we are changed, and no
amount of clothing, masks, or trying to cover up old tats will work. For God
looks on the heart, and that is what is reflected in our daily walk. For what
is on our heart will come out of our mouths, and our attitudes and actions will
be long remembered after the words are gone. Or the tattoos fade. Only the
things of Christ will endure forever....what are taking into eternity with you?
Just as the stickers on a race car tell of the sponsorship, who is paying the
bills for the car, what shows in your life about who is sponsoring it? God
calls it the fruit of the spirit....has your fruit gotten old like your
tattoos? Jesus also tells us you cannot put new wine, his spirit, in old
wineskins, our old lives. How many despite fashion and physical changes still
wear a Speedo in public? And you think some tats are bad....so we need to ask
what does our life show about Jesus? How is his life and death and resurrection
shown in us? A Bible cover, bumper sticker, a tattoo, or in our actions? Has
you relationship with him faded like your tats, or is it alive for all to see?
Now I am not anti-tattoo, although I don’t have any, but we need to look deeper
and see Christ in our lives, remove the mask, and be honest. On days the spirit
shines through us, let us be led by it. And on days it has faded, be reminded
how much we need Jesus-everyday in all ways. Go deeper than skin deep...Jesus
does, are you ready?
And why when sun tans fade, hair gets grayer, and nail polish has to be
redone, do you think your tattoos will somehow survive unchanged? One summer of
bad tattoos may change your viewpoint, but will it change your heart? Again
from the inside out with God, who loves us all despite our masks, tats, and
sin. Who forgives us and wants us to be like him. On earth as it is in
heaven. Where only a heart changed by God will get you in, one way so it is
easy, free so we can afford it. Moses thought he could lose something and tried
to fool himself and others, maybe Jim Abbott said it best, “a man is no fool to
give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Only two things
reveal things we hide from others, removing clothing at the beach and our hard
hearts toward God. Don’t be like the girl who was afraid to come out of the
water, in her itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini. Show the love
of Jesus in all things....the rest of you stay in the pool.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com