Recently my oldest daughter Dominique who is 15 years old, asked if she could get a tattoo.  I told her, “well let me think about that for a minute.”  I then thought for two seconds and responded, “HELL NO!!!  Well I didn’t say that out loud, but I was thinking it in my mind.  I simply told her that I didn’t feel she was mature enough to make that decision, and that we would talk about it again when she turned 18.

A couple of days later she was talking about this conversation to one of her friends at school.  Dominique’s friend told her that to get a tattoo is evil and that she would be dishonoring God.  Yes, she goes to a small Christian school where some kids still actually believe in God.  Anyway, my daughter came home all confused, because her friends mom told her that our bodies are temples and we shouldn’t put tattoo’s on our temples.

Dominique storms into my office and said, “dad I thought that having a tattoo was only forbidden in the old testament?”  I then proceeded to explain to her that her friends mom told her a half truth.  That is what many of us do when it comes to giving advise based on the word of God.  We have a scripture from the bible and then we proceed to make the scripture say something that God never intended it to say.  

Dominique and I opened up the bible to 1 Corinthians 6:19 where Paul teaches that our body is a temple.  I then explained that he is talking about sexual immorality.  Unless tatting your body is considered a sexual sin, I think you will be ok if one day you decide to get a tattoo.  I then took Dominique to Romans 14.  Here Paul talks about Christian liberty.  I won’t preach to you on this subject, I will simply draw your attention to verse 22.  Paul says, “happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.

Finally I told my daughter to read the book of Galatians.  Paul is specifically explaining to the church that we are no longer under the law.  Galatians 3:24 he says, the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 

Now please don’t misunderstand, I am in no way saying that I agree with teenagers or anyone else for that matter, getting tattoos.  By the way I do have a tattoo on my arm from college that I wish I didn’t have.  I also believe that not all tattoos honor God, so we must be careful what we are putting on our bodies.  But please lets not be so legalisic when it comes to deciding what does and does not honor God.  Even the Apostle Paul tells us “don’t dispute over doubtful things.” (Romans 14:1)

Yesterday Marques Coopers father called of the private search for his son.  This was three days after the coast guard offically called of its search for the NFL star.  I can only image what his family is going through right now.  The hard part about this situation is that your mind tells you he is gone, but your heart will always hold out hope that he is still alive and just has amnesia. 

This is such a tragedy.  To see a young man in the prime of his life, loose his life so quickly.  It causes us to stop and take a look at our own lives.  I don’t know about you, but life can get so busy these days.  We are steady rushing from one moment to the next with no thoughts what so ever, that it could be our last one. 

Life is really just a series of moments.  Some are good and some are bad.  In a time like this I a reminded that tomorrow is not promised to any of us.  As I look back over my life I have had some great moments.  I have also had some not so great moments.  But as I reflect on my life, what is true whether the moment was good or bad is that God was and is and will always be a great God.

Many times when tragedy happens in our lives, it causes us to question our great God.  Generally our pain, turns to anger as we wrestle with the question, how can a good God allow such a bad event to happen in our lives?  I have heard this question asked a thousand times over the last ten years.  It is never an easy thing to answer for a grieving loved one who is left behind.  But the answer is still the same.  God will always be God rather we understand what He does or not. 

Two scriptures come to mind as I close this blog.  Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  Psalm 48:1 says, great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.  My prayer is that we will continue to praise our Great God through the good and the bad.  And that we would learn to live every moment as if it were our last.