I write devotionals for Cathedral of Hope's daily devotional podcast. Here's the entry for November 15th.
At the age of 58 years + 1 day, I got my first tattoo.
I’d been talking about it for years and thinking about what I’d get even longer. Circumstance and hesitancy kept me from doing it for so long, but with encouragement from my spouse, I finally made the leap.
It’s a really simple tattoo, being only three words on one forearm and three on the other. I wanted these six words to be where I could see them often. The three words on my right forearm are “Grace, Mercy, Gratitude” (the three words on my left arm may be the topic of another devotional).
I frequently need those three words on my right arm to be reminded of my core values. Perhaps like so many followers of Jesus, I often get caught up in an economy of loving others too scarcely. Too regularly, I practice conditional forgiveness, forgetting that I have been the recipient of God’s good grace and mercy. In our consumeristic culture, I commonly get too focused on my own selfish needs that I neglect to share freely and not take note of God’s generosity towards me.
The writer of Hebrews warns us, rather starkly, that if we know God’s good grace, mercy, and generosity and keep forgetting it, there is “no sacrifice for sins left.” If we treat the gifts of God as an “unholy thing” and “insult the Spirit of grace”, we willingly take ourselves to a place separated from God.
With “Grace, Mercy, Gratitude” permanently tattooed on my skin, I still fall short. That simple reminder should show me love undeserved, forgiveness unearned, and abundant generosity. That dark ink on my forearm should prompt me to exude love, forgive without condition, and give scandalously.
For when I fail to remember, I am consumed in selfishness and set my back to God. May we always strive to be a people who insult not the spirit of grace, but a people who make God’s good grace, mercy, and giving known in the world.
Let us pray
Loving God, mark me a person of grace, a person of mercy, and person of gratitude. Let me be a reflection of your love.
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