fresh ink

*originally posted june 2nd, 2009*

So here’s the explanation…. Background first: As far back as I can remember, I’ve been slightly terrified of the second coming of Christ. I’ve always said I want to get married, have kids, grow old and die peacefully, right?. The whole idea of the ‘rapture’ and horns blowing and funny looking angels…all that just freaks me out a little. I’ve often struggled with whether or not that is any type of indication of how much I love the Lord, but I’ve come to grips that no, it doesn’t. I still love Jesus with all of my heart. Let’s chalk it up to fear of the unknown. *grin*

So, several weeks ago at church, Lloyd was speaking on the part in 1 Thessalonians about the second coming–end of chapter four into chapter five. He drew this simple little diagram to show time and how Jesus came once (first arrow…already happened) and he will come again (second arrow…has yet to happen). And at that second arrow people will be divided for eternity- those who know Him, and those who do not. He then explained how there’s a lot of different beliefs about the end times and all that will surround Jesus’ second coming, yadda yadda yadda. But get this, Paul says to the Thessalonians, look, you already know all that you need to know. Sure, there’s many more details but the fact of the matter is, he’s coming back for ya’ll, and you can find hope and peace in that. There’s probably a lot more arrows and drawings and such that could be added to the diagram, but we need to most focused on the simplicity that he’s coming back for his people. And that, I could swallow.

So my tat. The actual diagram that Lloyd drew looked a little goofy on my arm, trust me, I tried. So I drew a modified version that looks a little prettier. The two arrows making the heart represent the first and second coming of Christ to serve as reminder to me that I can rest in Him and have peace about Him coming again. The word is hebrew for hope, which is a pretty prominent thing in my life right now. My prayer is that my hope in Christ would not waver based upon my circumstances, but would stay strong in my knowing Him. And of course, a heart which represents love because isn’t love the meaning of it all? God loves us so much that he sent his only son to earth to die for our sins, and he loves us enough to come back a second time and take us back to heaven to be with him forever.