Before posting what you're about to read I want you to know, I talked with my husband and got his permission.
I'm newly married and I'm proud to say that my husband was the only man I've ever seen naked. I've babysat for many years and have changed many diapers. Some boys were circumcised and some were not. So it took me a little while before I connected the dots. Just a few weeks ago I asked my husband, rather bashfully, if he was circumcised. I explained to him, unnecessarily, that I'd never seen a man's private part before, and basically babbled on like a fool while he smiled at me amused. When I finally shut up he said that he wasn't circumcised. This led to the conversation about our coming baby.
It's a BOY!!
So I asked him about circumcising our lil' man. We discussed it and came up with our decision. And because the importance of what I'm writing has nothing to do with the argument pro/con circumcision, I'm not going to tell you what we decided.
What I want to share with you is what came from this conversation with my husband. I was laying in bed and a thought hit me. What was God's point in circumcision? What was He trying to say? So I began to pray. I'm going to share with you what I feel God was saying.
A man's most precious possession is his reproductive organ, his penis. God required Abraham to remove the protective covering from this organ, because God wanted to be his covering, his protection. God wanted Abraham to know that He was going to take care of him down to his very core.
The purpose of the foreskin is to protect the penis from fecal matter and other foreign bodies that could cause infection or harm. And circumcision was God's way of saying, "I'm all you need. I will protect you. I will bless you. I will provide for you. Trust me." God was not only setting His people apart, He was making a covenant with them to be there all in all.
Why is this message so important? Circumcision was done under the law and like most traditions after so many years of just doing it because that's what we're supposed to do we lose the meaning of it. We lose the importance. We do things just because, instead of really understanding what God is trying to say to us.
God knew His people were going to miss the meaning of circumcision. He knew they were going to disobey Him. He knew that they were going to walk away from Him, while performing all the necessary religious acts; and so, in Deuteronomy 30 God says after you fall away and I scatter you among the earth, then I'll call you back to myself, I'll bring you back to my promises, "and God will circumcise your hearts."
This is what God wants to do in us today. Romans 2:28-29 says, "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not on the letter, whose praise is not from men but from God."
Allow me to make this more personal... You are not a Christian because you wear a cross, carry a Bible, attend church services, and perform all the necessary religious acts. You are a Christian if you're heart is completely surrendered to God. If your most prized possession is laid bare before Him.
God is asking us to circumcise our hearts. Remove the protective covering from around your heart and trust God in a brand-new way.
We've been hurt by people and circumstances. We've decided that nothing in this life is certain, that bad things happen to good people, and the only person that can protect me is me. I'm going to be in control of my life and my destiny. I'm going to protect myself, my family, my future. And so we've built up a thick skin around our hearts and lives to protect ourselves.
And now God is whispering to you, "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Will you trust me? Will you allow Me to guide your steps and direct your future? Will you remove the protective covering from around your heart?"
Religious people don't change the world. Just like the Jews lost the meaning of circumcision, we've lost the meaning of giving our hearts to Christ. And so like the Jews, the world is turned off of God because of us. "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you" (Romans 2:24). Because we perform acts of religious service, but keep our hearts guarded, no one hears our message and they are turned off from God because of us.
God says, "Trust me. Let me be your all in all." Take down the protective covering around your heart today. Allow God to bring healing, deliverance, restoration. Allow God to guide your future. Trust Him to provide for your needs. Allow Him to make you a living testimony.
The life God called Abraham to and the life He's calling you to is not easy. It takes work. It doesn't happen by sitting back and waiting on God to do something. He's already done it. You need to get up and do something. And the first step...
Circumcise your heart.
