First off, I'd like to clarify that this post is in no way, shape, or form an attempt to justify my tattoos. To be honest, I don't feel the need to justify them. What I am going to do is explain the meaning of each portion of my tattoo in a series of blog posts. This is the reason behind my recent full sleeve tattoo adventure in the first place...to point to Christ. I can't tell you how many complete strangers I've had ask me about my tattoos and what they mean. One word of advice, if you're going to have Scripture tattooed on your body...please know the verses word-for-word because you WILL be asked! And hey, the more people that ask me about them the better.
The first piece of my sleeve tattoo that I'm going to dive into is "The Ship". Anyone that knows me well enough, knows that I have an affinity for anything nautical or pirate related. (Yes, I am a complete Pirates of the Caribbean nerd). Who wouldn't want to be a pirate? Ok, I'm not saying I want to partake in the lying, stealing, cheating, pillaging, and plundering that normally comes to mind when thinking of pirates. However, I am deeply intrigued with the adventure of sailing the world, the freedom to make port wherever you so desire, and journeying into uncharted waters. The key words here are journey, freedom, and adventure...words that followers of Christ, sadly, rarely associate with their faith. We are not called to a mundane existence as followers of Christ, to be labeled as watered-down, stick-in-the-mud, pew dwellers! We are vessels, carrying the good news of the Gospel, called to great adventures while carrying out the will of God! With that being said, lets dive into "The Ship" tattoo.
As you can see, the tattoo is of a "pirate-ish" ship on stormy seas and the Scripture that goes along with it is on a banner that reads, "Acts 27:15". Acts 27:15 reads, "The ship was caught by the storm and could not sail against the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along by it" (NIV). This verse precedes the shipwreck of Paul while he was being transferred on a ship as a prisoner to Rome. At first glance, the verse is not vividly profound or does it really even speak or teach towards how we should live out our faith. However, those that know me, know that I like to look deeper into Scripture. I'm often amazed at at all the symbolism that can be found in God's Word if we look at it through a biblical lens and let God speak to us through what we see on the pages of the Bible. When I look at this Scripture, I see tons of symbolism.
For the the fun of it, reread the Scripture and substitute "your name" for "The ship" and "we". Also, substitute "Holy Spirit" for "wind". Was that confusing? Ok, here's what mine would look like:
"Ryan was caught by the storm and could not sail against The Holy Spirit; so Ryan gave way to it and was driven along by it."
When I look at this passage, I see the storm as any hardship that may come up in life...confusion, divorce, heartbreak, death, loss of a job...the list goes on and on. I think its no coincidence that one of the symbols of The Holy Spirit in the Bible is the wind. Sometimes even in the midst of our storms, we still try to paddle against what The Spirit would have us do. Until we give way to The Spirit and let it drive us along, we're headed for shipwreck! If we are trying to discover our God-intended direction, we must let His Spirit drive our ship. A ship is also known as a vessel, which can carry all sorts of things. As Christians, we are also vessels. We don't carry cargo, but we carry the Gospel of Christ! We are called to carry this message to the ends of the earth and to every port our vessel docks in.
I think everyone struggles with "hearing The Spirit" and "being led by The Spirit". I think we struggle because in order to allow The Spirit to guide/lead us, we have to die to our own desires. Giving way to The Spirit to lead our lives is not easy...but I guarantee it will lead you on a path of God-filled adventure and journeys!
"Yo Ho, Yo Ho...Its a pirate's life for me...."
Written by Ryan Thomas
Tattoos by Jason "Nug" Smith @ Next Generation Tattoos in Locust
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