Talking About Circumcision

It was morning. The little boys were up, which meant that it was time for me to change some diapers. I got to work on my 3-year-old, Max, while my two older sons sprawled out nearby on the couch. My oldest son, at the age of 8, saw the opportunity to pass on a bit of knowledge to his 6-year-old brother.

“Max is circumstanced,” he began, “That’s when they cut off the very tip down where boys go potty.”

His younger brother was appalled by the information. “That is so mean!”

My oldest son continued in his matter-of-fact voice, “Yep, and it happened to you too when you were a baby. It started back in Bible times when God told all of His people that they had to be circumstanced.”

As entertained as I was by my son’s explanation of circumcision, I decided that it was time for me to butt into their conversation.

“Actually, honey,” I corrected my son with a smile, “it’s called being circumcised. But you’re right – back in Bible times, whenever the Jews had a baby boy, he was circumcised. That was an outward sign to everyone else that he was a child of God.” I was referring to God’s words when He said:

“This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.” ~ Genesis 17:10 NIV

My 6-year-old looked confused. “Does that mean that he’s not a Christian?” he asked, motioning to his 1-year-old brother whom we had chosen not to circumcise as an infant.

“No, that’s not what it means,” I assured my son. “Many things have changed since then. Before Jesus was born, there were lots of rules about what God’s people needed to do in order to be righteous. When Jesus came, He said that there was a new law. Do you remember what that was?” Both of my boys were very familiar with God’s moral law of love, which they verbalized to me.

“When we obey the law of love,” I explained, “then we will be obeying all the other laws from the Bible too.”

The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  ~ Galations 5:14 NIV

I had more to share with my boys. “Sometimes we can do things that look like we are obeying the Lord on the outside, but in our hearts we are not really being loving. Even though it might look like we are being good on the outside, those good things can never prove that we are Christians.”

“After Jesus died,” I continued, “a new sign was given so that people could know who the children of God were. It was still circumcision, but it didn’t happen on the outside. Do you know what part gets circumcised in God’s people today?”

“Is it their whole body?” My 6-year-old asked in alarm.

“No, I think it’s their heart that gets circumcised.” My 8-year-old stated.

I nodded. “Yes, the only way that people can know for sure that we are true believers is by the circumcision that has happened in our hearts.”

For he is not a [real] Jew who is only one outwardly and publicly, nor is [true] circumcision something external and physical. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and [true] circumcision is of the heart, a spiritual and not a literal [matter]. ~ Romans 2:28-29 TAB

My oldest son raised an eyebrow and asked, “So we have to cut off a chunk of our hearts?”

“That sounds like it hurts, doesn’t it?” Both boys nodded and I continued. “It does hurt. You see, we do need to cut off a chunk of our heart – all the unloving parts. When we put our flesh to death by listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit as He speaks to us through our conscience, we are cooperating with Him by allowing our hearts to be circumcised.”

In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but in a [spiritual] circumcision [performed by] Christ by stripping off the body of the flesh (the whole corrupt, carnal nature with its passions and lusts). ~ Colossians 2:11 TAB

The diapers had been changed and my boys scampered off, leaving me to my thoughts about the religious people of Jesus’ day. They had attempted to identify themselves as children of God based on their outward acts such as physical circumcision, keeping the Sabbath, refraining from eating unclean foods, and so on. Religious people of today are still doing the same thing. Their righteous activities may include being a regular church attendee, reading and memorizing the Bible, volunteering in various ministries, giving financially, only watching certain movies or listening to certain music, and this list also goes on and on. These things are not bad, but they will never prove a person’s righteousness. And they may even reflect a person’s self-righteousness. At least, that was the case for me.

I used to be a religious lost person, failing to realize that I was living under the Old Testament law. I depended on my outward appearance to identify myself as a Christian. My external acts of righteousness may have confirmed that I was a religious person, but they provided no evidence that I had come into a right relationship with the Lord. In fact, my previous unloving ways toward my children and my husband was evidence that I hadn’t.

If I am an authentic believer, a true child of God, then I will identify with Jesus and the work that He did on the cross. Am I willing to tell the truth about the self-centered attitudes, intentions and motivations of my heart and bring these sinful, unloving ways of my flesh to the cross of Christ to be put to death? It is only then that I am left with love. Will I cooperate with the work that the Lord wants to accomplish in me – not an external work of my own hands, but an internal work performed by Christ – the circumcision of my heart? It is only through this inward work of heart circumcision and the resulting fruit of Christlike love in my relationships – beginning with my husband and children – that the world will come to recognize me as a true disciple of Christ.

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” ~ John 13:35 NIV

~Christi Faagau