Branding – it’s a word used a lot these days in the advertising trade. A brand tells people about your company and what it represents.  It can have a positive effect and turn people to buy product or it can be negatively used against you, if it’s not the image you want to convey.

Brands are still used on cattle to identify where they came from and that they carry a stamp of approval. A logo or brand can tell a lot about the product and help to sell it. 

People will get tattoos to set themselves apart from others. Even inking can change your identity.  I still wonder what happens to folks that get tattooed once they grow old.  Do they wind up around your waist or ankles along with all the other crepey skin?  Seriously though, when I was young, people with tattoos were often considered unsavory, but today everyone seems to have at least one.

Jesus was also branded. Luke 23:38 says, “There was a written notice above Him which read, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” It was placed there to add to the mockery.  His humiliation wasn’t enough.  He was battered, scorned and nailed to that tree, along with the sin of the world – branded for our sake.

Jesus was King of the Jews but that was just part of His tittle.  He is King of Creation, King of Kings, King of grace, mercy and love. As Christians, we wear that brand and should be letting the fact be known to everyone, who we are. He died so we could live.  He conquered death so that we will live forever in paradise.  In a time when Christianity is getting a bum rap in many parts of the world – it’s time to stand tall and let others know why we’re proud to wear His name. May His brand be placed on our hearts as a constant reminder of what He did for me and identify me as His child.

On my heart imprint Thine image,
Blessed Jesus, King of Grace,
That life’s riches, cares, and pleasures
Have no power Thee to efface.
This the superscription be:
Jesus, crucified for me,
Is my life, my hope’s Foundation,
And my Glory and Salvation.