What God wears

My friend has a tattooed wedding ring.

I always thought that was bold and wonderful. A ring can be removed. A tattoo is permanent. You can't get rid of it without leaving a scar.

A tattooed wedding ring makes a statement. I'm in this for keeps.

What we wear gives us identity, belonging. I'm with him. I'm on that team. I support this cause. You can tell so much about people by the way they dress. Maybe that's why it is so important to us. Our adornments shape our identity.

I never thought much about what God wears. A quick word study reveals that He is clothed in power, majesty, and honor, girded with strength, robed in righteousness.

But God has a tattoo, too. In fact, He has lots of them.

"See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me" (Is 49:16).


That word, inscribed, it means "to cut in, to engrave."

He cuts our name into His hand. I'm in this for keeps, He says.

This statement of God comes in answer to the cry, "The Lord has forgotten me!"

He says, "Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you" (Is. 49:15).

I love to imagine the strong, beautiful hands of God, covered with the names of His children.

He wears us. We are a part of His identity. And He will not forget.