Are you a graffiti lover? What about tattoos? Could this be what we’re reading as we consider Today’s Holy Nougat .
Revelation 3:12 CEB
[12] As for those who emerge victorious, I will make them pillars in the temple of my God, and they will never leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on them my own new name.
Tattoos, Anyone
I’ve never been the greatest at art, and my interpretation of art is somewhat sketchy. It might not be surprising that I’m not much good at graffiti, either. Yet, if I were to be entirely honest, I’ve seen some really neat graffiti, which appeals to me, even though I don’t understand it. The artistry is superb and invites me to think of the effort made by the artist to create the total piece.
Don’t worry, I don’t get Monet, or Picasso, or Rembrandt either. And many a moment, I don’t get Michaelangelo. It’s all the same to me. Out of my sphere of general comprehension. I suspect you also guessed that while I appreciate the effort taken to create intricate designs and sculpture, I don’t always understand the significance of the sketches. Hence, in one sense, I’ve missed this very profound promise in my various readings of Revelation.
Now that it has caught my attention, I’m struck by the artistry implied in the text. For Y’shua Jesus promises to not only sculpt us so we become support beams for others; now He’s also going to carve God’s name as well as the Holy City us. Tattoos, anyone?
Self-Check
Do we see art as evidence of God’s creativity reflected in humanity? What about tattoos? How do we feel about Y’shua tattooing on us?
Application
Now, we can read this promise as tattoos, sculpting, or even carving; it also has another art reference for me. That is, an inscription or the rendering of one’s signature. When framed in that context, I see the Master Crafter, the inimitable Creator, signing the pillars and claiming them permanently as God’s very own work and possession. That sheds a very different light on us as pillars.
Siblings, throughout the pages of the Bible we see evidence that God considers us as God’s masterpiece. Genesis 1.28 assures us that, like the rest of Creation, humanity was blessed by God. The patterns in the creation narrative indicate that
God creates
God deems it good (a masterpiece)
God blessed it
So, with humanity being blessed and given creative power, we were also considered good by God. Moreover, we are plainly told in Ephesians 2 that we are God’s masterpiece. Does it not follow that when we are restored to the masterpieces we have been created to be, that God’s name is upon us.
Bear with me for a moment longer, for there’s one important bit that I did manage to grasp about great artistic work. Did you know that only a master artist/crafter is supposed to restore a masterpiece? Who better than Y’shua to restore us to God’s original? None I say, no one else. So that’s what He’s done. Just like that.
What then is our response?
Point to Ponder
Restoration of a masterpiece requires attention to details, and intricate processes. It may need solvents to lift whatever has been painted over/rncrusted; liquid gold or lead to rejoin the stained glass pieces; chisels to chip away at what is overgrown and loving patience to unearth what has been hidden under the grime. That’s what’s happening when we’re undergoing before we overcome. Tattoos anyone?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
