Word for Your Wednesday

{MARKED}

“We’re going to make a few marks on your skin.” I’ve heard this several times now as various nurses, technicians and doctors have made marks on my body with a sharpie marker. These marks will eventually wash off, but the permanent freckle tattoos they made for my radiation therapy will not. I guess I can’t say I’ve never had a tattoo!

I’m officially MARKED, by the medical field, you could even say: labeled. My label says I’ve had radiation. Have you ever been labeled? In most cases too be labeled is not a positive thing.  If you were labeled (or marked) as a child with a negative trait you know how hurtful it can be. Many of us grew up with a label we didn’t like either from a parent, teacher or sibling; living with that label can be difficult.

But, I have good news!

If you are in Christ, you have been given a new label, you’ve been ‘marked’ by someone new!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (MSG) “Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons!”

If you were ever marked by someone or had a negative label follow you through life, it’s time for you to allow Jesus to give you a new label.  His label says you are a ‘new’ person in Christ. It means all old things are gone, old traits, old habits and old labels - GONE. If you let Him, Jesus will come in and cross out the old you and mark you with something new. The new you, the one that is in Him, is marked by everything that He is.

The doctor marked my body but, Jesus marked heart and that is a permanent mark I’m more than happy to have!