Is Everyone Welcome?

 

How would this person feel in your church? Would she be welcome? The truth is the majority of people see those with tattoos and do exactly what the people in the background are doing. Unless we too are tatted, we tend to cast those judgmental glances that say, “what are you doing here”? When God had Samuel anoint David as the next king He said in 1 Samuel 16:7b, “The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”. What if this person has a heart that is purely seeking the Lord. 1 Corinthians 6:11 reminds us that we all have a past. It says, “Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”.  Jesus – Our Lord and Savior, rebuked the churchy people, then known as the religious leaders or the pharisees when they became judgmental like this. He would remind them that HE is Lord even over the Sabbath, and that the Sabbath was made for the people. (Matthew 12)

We get so caught up in this way of expression that we only see the negative side of it. Yet, if someone chooses another way to choose to express their way of doing life we judge differently. If they were to express themselves with fine jewelry or plush fur coats, we tend to look at them with awe and wonder. However, the inked expression seems to always get a different kind of ah. Many see it as a violation of the one verse found in Leviticus that says not to get tattoos. We fail to keep this in context and see that this was given as a command in its time because people were using it as an act of worship to the dead. In those days God was trying to keep His chosen people from falling by the wayside by worshipping false gods and idols of the pagan nations of the land they were going to inhabit. If we wanted to get technical then there would be several other laws, we could be judgmental with if we so chose. However, ink is much easier and much more divisive for some, because of the reputation it has acquired over the years. While many have some very tasteful and beautiful ink, there have been those in the past that relate tattoos to gangster life. This past stereotype of tattooed people has led to tattooed people in general too often being judged more harshly and especially by the church which should be the place of welcome. Jesus spent time with Matthew at a dinner with people who were tattooed. Maybe not literally, but they were tattooed as bad people because of the lifestyle they held as tax collectors. Jesus was scoffed at for it and simply said in Mark 2:17, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”  Those who know they need a heart change. Those that know they want Jesus and a relationship with Him. Yet, if we are so intent on pushing them out because of their outward appearance then who has the greater sin.

The truth is we need to view it differently. It is skinart. And we don’t take these bodies with us.  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:44 that we die in these natural bodies, but we rise again in Jesus with new perfect bodies. Spiritual bodies made new in His Image. The Imago Dei made perfect finally,  through the resurrection Jesus provided for us in His own death and resurrection. Remember how disfigured His body was when they took Him from the cross at His death. Isaiah told us He was beaten beyond recognition. Yet, when He rose from the grave Jesus had that perfect body that we will have. Jesus’ body was perfect again ready to meet the Father. That terrible disfigurement He went into the tomb with was gone except for the symbolic holes in His hands and feet to show He truly was the risen Savior.

You see, it was Jesus Himself,  who said in Mark 7:15 that it’s not what goes into your body that defiles you, but what comes out of your heart that defiles you. That ink that went into your skin isn’t going to defile a person.

People with tattoos – for the most part – are doing their skinart as an act of self-expression. Many use it to witness to others and some to pay tribute to others. You most likely will find that those with tattoos have a story behind the tattoos they have. We just need to give them a chance and perhaps listen to what that story might tell. I have one myself that reminds me that when I am persecuted, I have two choices. I can see it as danger, or as an opportunity to show people what I am in Christ. It is a Chinese congee, and I have the same thing over my desk. I know Jesus is in my heart and this tattoo doesn’t change who I am in Jesus.  We have to do what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:15 and understand that Christ died for everyone – even tatted people – so that they can receive new life in Christ. Verse 16 tells us if we have this new life in Christ in us then really, we shouldn’t be evaluating people from a human point of view. In other words, like the world does. We should see people, even those with tattoos, as Jesus does; as souls worthy of a life relationship with Christ because He gave His life for them too.

In Paul’s letter to the Church of Rome in Chapter 2:1-3, he writes that we may think we can condemn such people, but we are just as bad and only condemning ourselves.  Paul asks why we think we can judge others when we do the same things ourselves. It may not be getting tattoos, but to have a hardness of heart that doesn’t love others merely due to outward appearance is condemning in itself. Jesus would tell us in John 13:34 to love others just as He has loved us.  We know He loved us enough to give His life for us, so the question remains. How would you treat this lady in the picture? John 15:13 says this ¹³ “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

You see this is near and dear to me because I just recently lost my son to a horrific car vs. train accident. My son was 33 years old, and he too was tattooed much like the lady in this picture. For years he ran from the Lord, yet the week of his demise, he had repented with me present and said to me – and I still have the text – dad, I’m coming to your church this week.  The sad thing is he was taken before that day ever came for him. The accident was so horrific that they couldn’t even find even the slightest part of one of his tattoos to identify him. He was covered in them. So, you see what we see as permanent really is just temporary. My son has a new body, and it is most definitely made new and pure. It has made me see tattoos completely different and I never had an issue with them in the first place. Yet, seeing how temporary they really are and knowing we get new bodies helps me see those with them for the beauty they carry. God can do wonderful things for those He calls. I too have some tattoos, and they tell a story. I am a pastor as well. I know the Lord is in my heart and that He walks and talks with me every day. I also know I would never want to be without my relationship with Jesus my Lord and Savior. He has helped me through the valleys and guides me through the hills. That’s why I know my God is greater, and He is for whosoever believes in Him. Oh, and by the way, that scripture – John 3:16 – was tatted on my late son. Blessings