Inked

Book excerpt: A tattoo can tell a lot about a person. Some reflect a rebellious season, like the demons that cover Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers. Some express religious ties, like actor Mark Wahlberg’s once tattooed rosary. Some are symbols of love and loyalty; Some serve as remembrances, like rapper Lil Wayne’s teardrops, representing deaths of loved ones. Inked by Janet E. Kusiak and Kimberly D. Goad uses the language of tattoos to explore the question: what has marked your life? Is it a deep well of pain? Is it emotional baggage? Is it depression? In spite of events that are so deeply etched into our hearts, we have the power to change the marks that life makes on us. An estimated quarter of Americans ages 18-50 have a tattoo. What better way to show how one of the most polarizing of cultural icons can, in fact, be a metaphor for what people have in common? Using stories and slang from tattoo culture, the authors look at the new way Christ desires that we be inked by Him, as the authors explore the marks that have been made on our hearts.