Rom 2:28-29
28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. NASU
Circumcision is not a "painless" endeavor--never has been, never will be. How's that for understatement?
Circumcision involves a painful process that results in the removal of a very sensitive and delicate part of the anatomy. The wound created by circumsion must be cared for so as not to avoid infection. Our topic today is about a more invasive form of circumcision, however. Today I want to consider circumcision as heart surgery.
The passage above refers to a circumcision of the heart. Why is this surgery needed?
The reasons for the inward surgery include purity, obedience, and sanctification. The Spirit of God removes the sensitive areas of our hearts, those areas we do not let others touch indiscriminately--those areas into which we allow few if any of our friends.
The area for removal is secret as well as sensitive. The surgery is hardly pain free. When the Spirit begins to cut off those secret areas of our hearts, he removes and exposes things we would rather leave unknown and secret.
The healing of these wounds can take time too! It is no small thing to have God's surgery of circumcision performed on your heart!
How does this surgery take place? How is it performed by God's Spirit?
Often it is done in the red hot bed of trials or harsh circumstances. Rarely does God perform this kind of surgery without the benefit of hard times--just ask Job, or Moses, or Paul, or even Jesus himself, who "learned obedience through suffering." When God removes what we think is good--job, relationships, security, etc.--sometimes he is doing his best to expose the secret stuff that he really wants to cut away from our hearts.
The good news is that God knows what he is doing, and his scalpel is true. We can trust him to do the surgery well and to complete it. Trust him when times are hard, he will only remove what is necessary to complete your circumcision. Oh, it may feel like his scalpel is going to kill you, but it will not. It is for health that he prunes us and performs heart surgery.
His surgery on our hearts marks us as his people. It is a sign of his acceptance and love for us (remember Hebrews 12?). Without this surgery, without this circumcision, without this change of heart, we are not as easily identifiable as the people of God.
How do we respond to these things?
The only thing a patient can really do is to let the surgeon finish the work. Be still and know that he is God.
He will not remove too much.
He will complete what he starts.
Trust him.
Thanks for reading!
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