This past summer, my
daughter Grace and I took a Road Trip. We traveled the country in a loop,
visiting family in Arkansas and Tennessee as the centerpiece, covering the
north and Midwest on the way there, then returning home across Tennessee and
heading up the eastern seaboard. We visited historical sites and theme parks, ate
in restaurants that ranged from very fancy to incredibly simple, enjoyed
museums across a broad spectrum, and just generally had a great time.
Much of my extended Arkansas family. We had lunch after I preached at the church I grew up in.
(photo courtesy of me)
One of the more mundane
and yet surprising observations that we made on the journey was how many people
in the middle of the country sport scriptural tattoos. We saw full verses and individual
citations like Matthew 8:17. The most common one was Philippians 4:13, which we
saw sometimes simply cited, but more often it was fully written out in a wide
variety of translations that were universally not acknowledged (so the verse
would be stated, as in “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me,”
sometimes with the citation (Phil. 4:13) but never with the translation (e.g.,
NRSV or NIV) at the end).
The most common tattoo we saw on our trip. (photo courtesy of Pinterest)
The Bible tells us in
both testaments that God’s covenant will be written on our hearts (Jeremiah
31:33, Hebrews 8:10, Hebrews 10:16) but never that it will be written
externally where all can see it. (As an aside, Leviticus 19:28 and 1
Corinthians 3:16-17 have been interpreted as biblical injunctions against
external tattoos.)
After spending an
especially hot day at Cedar Point, a theme park that specializes in roller
coasters, where we saw a multiplicity of folk with scriptural tattoos, Grace
asked me, “If you were going to get a tattoo from the Bible, what scripture
would you choose?”
This is really a moot
question as it is difficult for me to imagine getting a tattoo of any sort, but
it does raise some interesting questions: How openly am I willing to display my
Christian identity? Within that sphere, what aspect of Christianity would I
want to share with others? Would it be more important to show scripture that
has particular meaning to me or to engage the potential reader? (Most tattoos
we saw tended toward the former choice.)
As I pondered the last
question, I considered my favorite passage in the Bible, Philippians 4:6-7: “Be
anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving make your requests known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (NKJV)
Of course, that is a bit long to tattoo on anything, but Grace suggested just
leaving it at the first four words: “Be anxious for nothing.” The NRSV, which
is the Presbyterian version of choice, says, “Do not worry about anything,” but
in this instance I prefer the New Kings James. Be anxious for nothing. Good
advice.
I’ve just taken my
daughter to London where she will be studying for the next year. Yes, she will
be home for Christmas for almost three weeks, but essentially, we will be
thousands of miles away from each other for the next 10 months, after which she’ll
be finishing up college and moving into a life of her own. I love and trust
Grace with all my heart, and truth be told I will have no less control over her
(which is to say, not much) than I did when she was just about 300 miles away
in Boston, but separation is hard. And that is just one concern in my very busy
and full life.
Grace and me in front of Buckingham Palace on her High School Graduation Trip to England.
(photo courtesy of me)
I know that you too have
your own worries. In these troubled times, and within the stresses of our
individual lives, there seems to be a lot about which to be anxious. Whether it’s
family or jobs or health or money or home or country, we can all tick off
several areas that we worry about. Yet the Bible tells us there’s nothing to
worry about. That God is in control and when we center our lives, our hearts,
our prayers gratefully in God, we will know peace. That seems worthy of being
tattooed somewhere. I think I’ll stick with biblical precedent and have it tattooed
it on my heart. Metaphorically speaking anyway.
