“The Lord’s”/属耶和华的

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Dexu Xia

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Jan 7, 2019, 2:33:11 AM1/7/19

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“The Lord’s”

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:16

It doesn’t take much to notice that getting “inked” is very popular these days. Some tattoos are so small that one barely notices them. Others—from athletes to actors to everyday people—have opted to cover much of their bodies with multicolored inks, words, and designs. The trend seems like it’s here to stay, a trend that netted $3 billion in revenue in 2014—and an additional $66 million for tattoo removal.

Regardless of how you may feel about tattoos, Isaiah 44 speaks metaphorically about people writing something on their hands: “The Lord’s” (v. 5). This “self-tattoo” is the climax of an entire paragraph that speaks of the Lord’s care for those He had chosen (v. 1). They could count on His help (v. 2); and their land and descendants were marked for blessing (v. 3). Two simple, powerful words, “The Lord’s,” affirmed that God’s people knew they were His possession and that He would take care of them.

Those who come to God through faith in Jesus Christ can confidently say of themselves, “The Lord’s!” We are His people, His sheep, His offspring, His inheritance, His dwelling. These are the things we cling to in the varied seasons of life. While we may have no external mark or tattoo, we can take heart that we have the witness of God’s Spirit in our hearts that we belong to Him (see Romans 8:16–17).

Father, the expressions of Your love and care are all around me and Your Spirit lives within me. Thank You!

How can the truth that you belong to God impact how you live?

属耶和华的

圣灵与我们的心同证我们是上帝的儿女。-罗马书8章16节

我们不难发现，刺青在现今社会非常流行。有些人的刺青图案很小，小到几乎没有人会注意到。但有些人，包括运动员、演员，甚或普通人，会选择大面积的刺青，以不同颜色的墨水，刺上各式各样的文字和图案，这股流行趋势似乎会一直延续。在2014年，美国刺青行业的净收入就有30亿美元，还有额外六千六百万美元的收入则来自清除刺青的图案。

不论你对刺青有何看法，以赛亚书44章就以比喻的手法，讲论人们在他们的手上写着：“我是属耶和华的”（5节，新译本）。这段经文提到上帝看顾祂拣选的子民（1节），而百姓在自己手上“刺青”是其中的高峰。这表示他们能倚靠上帝的帮助（2节），他们的土地和后裔带着蒙福的印记（3节）。这强有力的句子“我是属耶和华的”，肯定了上帝的子民知道自己是上帝的产业，祂必看顾他们。

那些因信耶稣基督来到上帝面前的人，都可以充满信心地说：“我是属耶和华的！”我们是祂的子民、祂的羊、祂的后裔、祂的产业，也是祂的居所，这是我们在不同的人生境遇中能紧紧抓住的确据。或许我们没有外在的印记或刺青，但尽管放心，圣灵与我们的心同证，你我都归属于上帝（参阅罗马书8章16-17节）。

天父，祢透过我身边的一切来表达祢对我的爱与关怀，
并让祢的灵住在我里面，我感谢祢！