Guest Post - - - No, I'm Not Jewish: Why I Have a Star of David Tattoo Anyway

image via Tori Long

I am often asked if I have a Star of David tattoo because I'm Jewish, and the obvious answer (to readers, I hope) is that I am not Jewish, I am Catholic. So, why  the tattoo? Well, my sweet friend Katie asked me to write something up about my Star of David tattoo for her blog, and I've offered an explanation for my tattoo here.

"Remember your promise to me; it is my only hope." Psalm 119:49

Psalm 119 names for itself no author, but it has almost universally been taken to be a Psalm of David. And appropriately so; it is written according to his style, and the vividness and brutal honesty of verse 49 render a sharpness typical of David's writing. David was no stranger to desperation, but he was also no stranger to the help and love of God. David is among the most well-known rulers in human history, and he was a mighty king indeed. But, with the exception of his many lapses in judgment and his stumbling into sin, David would hardly consider his success his own. He knew where the power behind his reign truly was, and he in turn knew where praise and thanksgiving were due.

David was a man of simple beginnings, a shepherd boy whose own father was shocked that he would be chosen by God for great things. Perhaps the most popular story which animates for us David's simplicity is the story of David and Goliath. We all know this one: David, a young boy, masterfully fought Goliath, a huge man, with a sling and some stones before dealing him a final blow with the man's own sword, which David used to cut off his head. David's simplicity is always matched with God's sovereignty (in this case, over the Philistines and therefore over the fate of His people Israel).

This is the David I think of when I look at my Star of David tattoo. Not necessarily the David who cut off a man's head with the man's own sword, but the David who unexpectedly stood as a man of victory against his enemies with God's help, against all odds; the David whose greatest enemy was ultimately himself.

See, like David, I'm a sinner. A miserable, wretched, awful sinner. God has given me so much, and sometimes, like David in the story of Bathsheba, I see something else I want, I take it, and deal out some collateral damage along the way to clean up the mess I've made.

Thankfully, David's God is my God. This God of great mercies who makes promises and keeps them even when we fail to keep our covenant with Him calls me His own, His daughter, His beloved. This Savior of mine who is so mighty in word and deed is the very promise God kept to David in the flesh; the promise to bring a great ruler from David's line. And this heir to David's throne is the king and keeper of my heart, who loves me and keeps His promises to me even when I fail.

And how can I be surprised when He does? He is the fulfillment of the promise to His servant David, whom He loved tirelessly through good times and bad times and worse times.

A few people have asked me why I didn't get a cross tattoo if I wanted a tattoo to remind me that "God is faithful to me even when I'm not faithful to Him," and the simplest answer I can give is "because I want to remember the promise that was fulfilled in the cross."

David is my favorite person in the Old Testament, without a doubt. I trust sincerely that he prays for me and pleads on my behalf.

And I know, from his example -- which was not always an extraordinary example, but is special to me precisely because it was often an example of wretchedness and failure -- that God is a God who keeps His promises, no matter what.

And I need a permanent reminder.

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Tori Long is a proud Catholic and feminist whose hobbies include reading, cuddling kitty cats, and smashing the patriarchy right in its face. She is a pro-life activist, theology student, and is otherwise known as the Pink-Haired Papist. Her own blog can be found at: pinkhairedpapist.blogspot.com