 A tattoo in process |
 Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra. |
“I’ve got you under my skin,” sang Frank Sinatra, stylizing the 30’s song by Cole Porter. The Nelson Riddle signature arrangement scored a lyrical metaphor expressing how one individual affects another. When someone irritates or strongly influences us we may say that the person is “under our skin,” past our exterior defenses. Today, the cremation and tattoo industries have combined to literally place an individual – a dead person – under the skin of a surviving friend or family member. The burned body ashes are mixed with tattoo pigment and inserted into the skin. Whether the remains are sterile doesn’t seem to bother those who want to carry someone with them, as closely as possible, even pets. Some animal lovers have their cats and dogs cremated and tattooed in memorial. Cremation remains have been inserted into jewels and even vinyl records. But putting grandma in a rose on your shoulder breaks new ground. The trend aptly dubbed “morbid ink” is apparently growing more popular and health officials have yet to interfere.
Should we as Christians shrug our shoulders at one more crazy trend, or is something more serious going on? In a blog September 24, 2013 (CLICK HERE to read) I reference my book CURSE BREAKING which details the unbiblical aspects of cremation (CLICK HERE to order). I make the point that Bible verses such as Lev. 21:11, Num. 5:2-3, 6:6-7, 19:11, and 19:13 warn against the consequences of “touching” a dead body. In my earlier blog I explain that in Old Testament times, someone had to remove a dead body to a separate place and bury it. A Nazirite vow of dedication to the Lord meant that such a person could not even be associated with the corpse of a family member. Cremated ashes are a corpse, albeit in burnt form. We do not live under the Old Covenant, and hygienic considerations are no longer necessary. Still, violating the spiritual intent of Moses’s Law can bring a curse. If the unwarranted touching of a dead body was considered a curse, what are we to think of allowing the departed into our epidermis?
I will tell of all Your marvelous work (Psalm 9:1 NKJV). I like the wording of the KJV which says “show” instead of “tell.” The great need of our hour is to actually see the miracles of God. Every week, almost every day, I am privileged to witness the supernatural in demonic manifestations and the glory of the Lord overcoming immense evil. The Christian world is full of sermons and salvation solicitations. Nothing wrong with that. But what needs to be seen is not another slickly packaged presentation but the demonstration of God’s work. By all means let’s preach the Word, but isn’t it time to see that it really works?
