"The Lord's"

Isaiah 44:5

"Some will say, ‘I belong to the LORD’;
others will call themselves by the name of Jacob;
still others will write on their hand, ‘The LORD’s,’
and will take the name Israel."

tonight i asked our students to consider this text. this, as i posted before, is about identity. this is about a people living in exile - living in a land not their own - surrounded by foreign customs, religious practices, foods, etc. this is about this exilic people holding their heads high, remembering where their hope, value, and self-worth come from - "I belong to the LORD."

so i challenged our students: "who do you belong to? would you be willing to write 'The Lord's' on your hand? would you, as a sort of exile in this world and in your school, be willing to stand up for your faith - be willing to answer for the hope you have?"

we busted out the Sharpies. i asked the students to only write, "The Lord's," on their hands after they thought about how they might answer that friend or acquaintance at school the next day when he says, "what's that on your hand?"

i remember the days of rockin' the WWJD? bracelets, and i even remember wearing some hideous Christian t-shirts to school in my "too on-fire for Jesus to know i was too fanatic, very nerdy, and most likely annoying" years. but i think this is different. this is straight out of the Bible y'all!

"some will write, 'The Lord's,' on their hands."

what would you say? are you willing to put your identity in Christ - to really put it out there that you belong to God?