As you can tell, this Chid now has a tattoo."Well, tattoos aren't something Christ wants Christians to have."
"I don't think highly of girls, or even guys, with tattoos."
"Why would ANYONE get something that permanent on their body?"
Because it's my story. A lot of people instantly judge when they see someone with a tattoo, but today I show this to you to share with you my story.
The word redemption has an awesome meaning: the payment of an obligation.
When I look at the scars from my melanoma, they remind me I've fought the battle and it left its mark. But one day, as I looked in the mirror, I realized no matter how many marks and scars I have, I still win because God still has a deeper purpose for every mark, every trial, every scar. That definition of redemption means, to me, that God already paid my way into this world and He already claimed victory for me. I do not need to be scared or be fearful, it has already been done. No matter how far away I fall when I wander, I can - and do - always come home. That, friends, is what my tattoo means to me.
And as I enter into a new season in my life, I realize that that lesson is going to follow me wherever I go. Half the point of this life, I think, is to make mistakes so that we learn on our own what to - and not to- do. The meaning behind redemption is so simple and yet so beautiful. I often imagine Jesus as the shepherd, looking for the lost and bleating sheep in the middle of the storm that's stuck in the brush. He uses the crook of his staff to guide the sheep back to him and the rest of the flock.
Life's the same way. Sometimes we're safe in the pack with everyone else, but sometimes we wander away and experience pain and fear far away from the pack, unable to see on a dark and stormy night. But there shouldn't be any fear, because Christ is right behind us, coming to claim us with his authority and his power. He's always going to come after us, the choice of whether to return to him is the uncertainty. And as I said, redemption is a beautiful thing because no matter how much we mess up, how much we make error after error and mistake after mistake, how many times we defy his love - He'll still accept us back. No judgement. Total acceptance with the purest love.
If that doesn't make you breathe easier, I don't know what will. Knowing that God will love me no matter how unloveable I feel? No matter how ugly, how sinful, how much I regret and I wish to take back what I've done wrong... doesn't even matter. God died already to forgive you and I - so what we do he already knew about and he already covered it. God had your back thousands of years ago on that cross at Calvary, there's no need for YOU to beat yourself up over something he's already forgiven - and forgotten.
Steven Furtick of Elevation Church has a small speaking part on one of their worship CDs, We Are Alive. In that CD, he says this: "You serve a God, you were made by a God, no matter how far you've drifted, no matter how hard you've run, no matter how many bad alliances you've made, no matter how hopeless it seems, no matter how enslaved you are, you serve a God, a good God, who can turn your mistake into a miracle. You serve a God who can make the sun to stand still in your life."
This always gives me chills because he hits the nail on the head. That is the picture of how far God's redemption reaches. It knows no bounds, no limitations - just like the God we serve, his grace follows us wherever we go.
Easter just passed, but the victory of that day never grows old. Jesus Christ redeemed you by dying in the most painful way imaginable. He did that- for you. And when you see that cross, or think of the three of Calvary, what do you think about? All I can ever think about is the pain that he went through, at my expense, and how much he loved me to suffer that long. That's the ultimate love story. God doesn't need to give us chocolate, Tiffany's, or a bouquet of fresh tulips to show us that His love will never end and knows no bounds. It's not containable, it is immeasurable and neverending. True love gets no more pure than the ultimate sacrifice of one live for humanity - and he did it for you.
I want to leave you with a gift. And I want you to remember one thing: God meant this for you.
Life as a Christian can be painful. Nights can be full of heartache, days can be long and confusing. Sometimes my life as a Christian seems more difficult than they were when I wasn't saved. But in the same respect - my life as a Christian has been more incredibly rewarding than anything I could have ever imagined.
God has moved in my life over the past year to really teach me about obedience. Dating mistakes, a constantly changing list of priorities... he's allowed me to be disobedient until my heart broke and it hit me that I was doing it to myself. I'm far from perfect and even on my best day, I'm incredibly too hard on myself, but all the little parts of me that have broken are coming together to make me a beautiful mosaic of the woman God created me to be. My journey won't end until I take my last breath, but in this interim, I have no doubt that God has awesome plans for me. I look forward to learning how to give him the reigns - and not try to take them back. Once I can do that, or as I am learning how to, I already know he's going to move in my life in a way that overwhelms me ... and I cannot WAIT for that ride to begin! He's already done that with parts in my life before and his faithfulness and enthrallment with me is more than anything I could ever imagine.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow... and praise Him that he loves us, even when we can't love ourselves.
Parting thought:
Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message - Malcom Mudderidge
Talk soon.
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