SPIRITUAL TATTOO

Getting a tattoo is a pretty big decision for many people. It’s something that you are writing on your body permanently (well, now days there is removal, but it’s costly and often leaves scarring). But what about writing something on your heart?

God promised to do this in the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-33, Hebrews 8:7-13). It says: “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Many Christians have no idea what the New Covenant is, or even the Old Covenant for that matter.

Hebrews 8:7 says: “For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.” And we see that God DID find fault with the first (old) covenant and Jesus was the mediator of a New Covenant. The definition of mediator, among many similar ones, is “to be in a middle or intermediate position.”

We see that Jesus is just that; the old covenant ends when he arrives here (because he is the fulfillment of it), and in Matthew 26:27-29 he starts or establishes the new one through new promises. Jesus says, “I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

What is it we always are praying in the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” right? We are praying for that time when God’s Kingdom in the spiritual realm comes to earth and, essentially, when we can "drink the cup anew" with Jesus in his Father’s kingdom. That is the moment when the New Covenant is finally complete.

A covenant is a promise or a contract; it has a starting point and an ending point. We can see this from many examples in the Old Testament: Covenants between Adam and God, Noah and God, Abraham and God, and Moses and God. In all of these situations God promised something conditionally. It was always “If you keep this covenant…” The same applies for the New Covenant we have through Jesus. There are conditions we must keep, but also promises and blessings we will receive if we keep those conditions.

Part of the New Covenant is what was earlier stated: writing the law “on their hearts.” God’s word is the law…specifically the NEW promises we have through Jesus. We need to know these promises, so that when they are fulfilled, we will be ready. And hopefully, like a tattoo, they will be written on our hearts and minds for that very reason. ~