Fresh Ink

The new girl at my work is cool. We seem to have a lot in common. Her son and my daughter are close in age. She's way into music which is always a big plus for me. In fact, used to run a ultra hip jazz club here in town. And, as my latest barometer of coolness: she's a BIG fan of "The Office." Very cool, indeed.

One other thing that makes her stand out is she has tattoos. Lots of tattoos. Not that I've seen them. We work in a very traditional, buttoned-up atmosphere. She's very good at her job, and is always dresses very professionaly. And in a manner that covers up her ink.

She's gotten 2 tats (that I know of) in the past few weeks alone. She once mentioned to me that she "thinks she has about 20 tats." Which is, oh, about 20 more than I'll ever have.

My point is she has a lot of ink. And while that's not how I roll, I still think she's cool and we seem to get along pretty well.

Which brings me to a story she told me.

We were talking about faith and going to church and all those good things. Like so many people, she went early and often as a child, only to drift away from organized religion. I can relate. The point that I drifted away was also known as my college years.

At any rate, she had gotten away from the church. She had gotten married, had a child and gone through a divorce. It happens. At some point she moved back to her hometown and took her young son to her childhood church. She says that after a service, she along with other members of her family were in line to talk with the preacher.

It seems the preacher talked to everyone except my friend. She says that he wouldn't even look her in the eye or acknowledge her presence. It got so bad that he son asked out loud why the preacher was doing that.

I've got to admit I couldn't understand it either. When I asked her why someone, ESPECIALLY a preacher would do that in church she said "because I had been divorced...and because I have tattoos."

Is this what Jesus had in mind?

The answer, of course, is no. While there is always two sides to a story, it seems this preacher at the very least was making some very big judgements on who should and who shouldn't be in "HIS" church. What's so dangerous about this is that we all have labels that could be used to exclude us.

Some people have tattoos. Some people have no money. Some people have too much money. Some people have AIDS. Some people have dark skin. Some people don't think "The Office" is funny.

The point is, anytime we get to judging who should and who shouldn't be included, things get very messed up. Which is why I think Jesus tells us not to do it.

In Luke 15 the Bible says:

"Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

During this time tax collectors were considered the lowest of the low. And the sinners included everybody else. The Pharisees were the most powerful, respected force of the day. And they couldn't believe that Jesus would "lower" himself to associate with this crew.

Jesus goes on to tell three famous parables: the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. In all it describes how we rejoice when we find something we're missing.

Much the same way, God rejoices when we find our way back to Him. We're all lost at some point on this side of heaven. Life can be hard and questions, tough questions, often get in our way. But for those who keep searching, who don't stop trying to find God and strengthen their faith, Jesus promises that we will find what we're looking for.

It's for those reasons that as believers we should be supportive and encouraging to everyone. Even if they look different or dress different. Even if they've been married before, or heaven forbid, have a few piercings or tattoos. If those sorts of things wouldn't matter to Jesus, they shouldn't matter to us.

One final note about my friend. One of her tattoos that I have seen is on her left wrist. It's a very cool symbol that she tells me represents the trinity. I wonder what the preacher who dismissed her would think of that.