God's Tattoo

Did you know that God has a tattoo? In Isaiah 49:16 God says, "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands."

Yes, God has a tattoo, and it has your name on it. With full knowledge of what he was getting himself into, God made a decision to love us. That decision wasn't a temporary commitment—his love won't stop if someone better comes along. And it wasn't a conditional commitment—his love isn't based on what we can contribute to the relationship. It's a forever promise, a "not even death can part us" promise.

In our human relationships, we long for tangible reminders that we're loved. We want people to remember our birthday, send us flowers for no particular reason, tell us what they appreciate about us, hug us. God knows we have this need. He understands our short memory and our desire for tangible proof. So not only does he tell us over and over in Scripture how crazy he is about us, he went so far as to engrave our names on the palms of his hands. If there ever was a doubt of his love, God's tattoo settles it now and forever. We belong to him. Permanently. Unconditionally.

"I have engraved you on the palms of my hands." At the time the prophet Isaiah recorded these words (about 2,500 years ago), it was common for pagan worshipers to carve the name of their god into their hands. The throbbing pain reminded them of their devotion and hopefully earned them their god's attention. God spoke into this mixed-up religious climate—and turned things completely upside down. Instead of asking us to prove our love and worship, he took great pain on himself to show us his love. And instead of demanding our sacrifice, he sent his Son to be the sacrifice in our place.

I would never have the guts to get a tattoo. But I'm looking forward to one day seeing the tattoo on God’s hands--the one with my name on it.