Pierced for Our Purpose
Recently, I spoke with a mother who received a text message from her high school age daughter. She wrote:
“I’m in the school bathroom. There are some girls in here who are piercing another girl’s lip. Can I get my lip pierced too? Not in the bathroom at school, but by a professional?”
The mother laughed, thinking about how times have changed. She texted back, “Let’s talk about this tonight.”
Body piercing has been practiced in almost every society, including ancient Greece, Cypress, China, and the Mayan and Aztec cultures. By the late twentieth century, piercing became popular in Western civilization with influential rock stars and celebrities, especially due to MTV.
According to the United States National Library of Medicine, little is known about the consequences of piercing. So the US government conducted a random digit dialing technology search to obtain a sample of 500 men and women ages 18-50. Of the respondents, 14 percent had piercings, mostly women. Other associations among those who pierced were a lack of religious affiliation and previous use of alcohol and drugs. The conclusion to the research was that body piercing is associated with risk-taking activities and it has a high incidence of medical complications.
Given this information, we can conclude that piercing is a personal matter that should be taken seriously and discussed with those who care for you. What might be OK for some is wrong for another. The definition of pierce is to bore into something or put a hole in it. If you're going to pierce, The Association of Professional Piercers recommends the piercer be well trained and experienced. They also should follow health guidelines for blood-borne pathogen; otherwise, you could put yourself at risk for HIV/AIDS.
I'm on the conservative side of the piercing spectrum. I was eighteen when I got my ears pierced. My dad didn’t approve of piercing, so I respected his wishes until I became an adult.
By the time I grew up and moved out of the house, I was so sick of clip on earrings pinching my ear lobes like lobsters from Maine, I could scream. I had visions of wearing sparkling diamonds, classy silver hoops, and gold heart earrings. I called a girlfriend and we formed a plan. We agreed to meet at the mall and patron the first jewelry store we saw. Half excited and half scared, I slid cautiously into the piercing chair. I knew it was going to hurt.
Grappling with my resolve, I promised myself three pair of new earrings and a trip to Great American Cookies at the mall food court for a brownie if I went through with the deal. I took a deep breath, looked into my piercer’s eyes and nodded yes. The piercer clamped down with her piercing instrument and I heard a loud snap. I felt blood rush to my face.
“Ouch!” I squealed. Everyone in the jewelry story looked my way. “That felt like fire!” I continued to whimper. A kid who had been shopping with his mom gave me thumbs up and laughed at my misery. My right ear stung and stung... until the stinging was replaced with a throbbing ache.
I'm a total chicken, mind you. Way worse than Chicken Little with his falling sky. This was nothing out of the ordinary. It was a normal ear piercing through a normal lobe. Yet, half way through the process, I had become a devout believer in the saying “beauty is painful” and I was determined to escape from the bloodcurdling piercing chair.
I turned to my friend and said, "Piercing stops here. One ear's good enough. Right?" She raised an eyebrow and giggled with wit, "Sure. You can always wear a clip on earring on one ear and a real earring on the other.” I groaned. I knew that I had to finish what I started. And so I did.
The piercing affected me deeply; it changed my attitude and my style. Before I left the jewelry store, I pulled my hair up in a pony tail so everyone in the whole world (I mean mall) could see my sparkling ears. I had paid a price for those starter studs and I was determined to show them off. I was cool and I knew it. I was beautiful and I could feel it.
That’s the interesting thing about piercing, to pierce is to deeply affect. When one object pierces another, something’s got to give. On the sensory side, a stab of fear can pierce your heart or the cry of a wolf can pierce the night sky. With this implication, we get it that piercing not only affects the physical body it also affects the soul. It’s emotional.
Whatever your opinion is about physical piercing, the most important question is spiritual. What has pierced your heart? What pain has bore into your life and left a hole of emptiness in your soul?
We all have experienced inner wounds. They're the gashes and abrasions that affect the center of our being, caused by a myriad of circumstances. They leave a gouge in our hearts that remains empty until filled. It’s a gouge that stings with the suffering of loss. Yet we have a Lord who was pierced for our purpose to take away our pain; He’s a God who turns loss into gain.
In John 19:34, we read that Jesus was pierced. “...One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out." Blood and water are a symbol of sanctification and redemption in the Bible. Hebrews declares:
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised).” (Hebrews 10:19-23, KJV)
Because of Jesus death on the cross and resurrection life, we don’t have to suffer with the piercing pain of emptiness, rejection, and sin. Through Jesus we have the fellowship of love, the warmth of acceptance and we are forgiven all trespasses. We are blameless in God’s sight. Sanctification and redemption belong to you and me.
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.” (1 John 5:4-6, NKJV)
We overcome through believing in Jesus by faith. Yes, trials will still affect us. Life hurts, but when the emptiness in your heart is filled with the love of God you will prevail.
- By faith you summit emotional suffering and receive inner healing.
- By faith you rise above loneliness and enter into joy.
- By faith you conquer rejection and find lasting acceptance.
- By faith you triumph over the darkness of this world and find personal victory.
Jesus was willingly pierced to take our pain. His saving power is real! He washes away our sorrows and dries our tears. Instead of seeking fulfillment through exterior perfection such as body art and piercing, you and I can look inward for the reassurance of God’s spirit. He is truth. When we feel angry because of the stinging pain life deals, Truth says, “I will not leave you. I love you. I am here.” (John 14:18)
Revelations points to a day when all that is of this Earth will pass away. On that great day, we'll be transformed and we'll live with God forever.
“See! He is arriving, surrounded by clouds; and every eye shall see Him - yes, and those who pierced Him. And the nations will weep in sorrow and in terror when he comes. Yes! Amen! Let it be so! "I am the A and the Z, the Beginning and the Ending of all things," says God, who is the Lord, the All Powerful One who is, and was, and is coming again!” (Rev. 1:7-8, TLB)
Have you given your emptiness to Jesus? He can fill you with his life. He is the glory and the lifter of our heads. You can you lift your head right now and open your heart to receive His love.
He who was pierced is coming again.
Let's get ready together and be prepared to meet Him in the clouds.
Want peace with God?
~ Jackie O.