This is an insider report, not about tattoos on the skin, but about tattoos within — looking beyond body art to a transformed heart.

According to a 2006 survey by the American Society of Dermatological Surgery, 1 in 4 Americans between the ages of 18 and 50 had a tattoo on their skin.  New York Times columnist, David Brooks, wrote that people get skin tattoos to show that “. . . they are actually free spirits – sensual, independent, a little dangerous.”

However to actually be a “free spirit” (rather than just calling yourself one) a person must be free within.  Genuine “free spirits” are free from bondage to tormenting thoughts, feelings, cravings, or whims.

As humans, our hearts are heavily tattooed with hurts that need healing.  Pain is engraved on our being.  We try to escape it, deny it, and/or ignore it; but like a skin tattoo, those etchings on the heart follow us wherever we go.

What can we do?  You can get new inner tattoos to replace the pain-filled ones.  There is a tattoo artist who can remove your inner suffering and engrave your heart with healing wonders — inner tattoos of peace, self-control,  joy, forgiveness, understanding,  compassion, gratitude, contentment, love.

Who is that tattoo artist?  His face, tattooed behind my eyes, is the pillar of my soul.  His name is Jesus!