 |
Does God have a tattoo? According to the author, one interpretation of Isaiah 49:16 indicates that he does. But is that such a surprise? After all, this is the God who keeps company with prostitutes, addicts, strippers, murderers, and transients. Somehow, he never adopts their bad habits, though he raises plenty of eyebrows among his devoted followers doing so. He has a loving Heavenly Father who directs his steps and comforted him in his despair in the Garden of Gethsemane. If he didn't, or if the Father had rejected him, his crucifixion would have meant nothing. It would not matter whether he had been born in Bethlehem and been laid in a manger or in Bakersfield and a feeding trough. But God the Father did not reject him, and so his birth and death do not just matter but have set the course of history. And because they matter, so does every living person.
Through poetry, short pieces of creative nonfiction, and encouraging insights into the heart and mind of God, Bender shares a lifetime of learning and growth in his Christian faith. This book explores fundamental tenets of Christianity not just as they are explained in scripture, but as they might have been had circumstances been different at the time or if occurring today. What if Jesus had been born in contemporary Bakersfield, California? What if God had been a dismissive, dysfunctional father figure to Christ in Gethsemane? With what kinds of undesirable people would Jesus associate today? Bender, the benevolence director at his Mississippi church, has vast experience caring for the marginalized as he provides food and assistance with utility payments to those in need. Tenderly, the author addresses both seasoned Christians and those new to the lifestyle as he comforts, corrects, or speculates through each piece.