A New Kind of WHAT?!?!?

"Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, remove the foreskin of your hearts, O people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem."

(Jeremiah 4:4)

When God called Abraham to follow Him... promising to make Abe the "father of a great nation"... God also asked him (and all males) to circumcise themselves, as a sign of their distinctiveness. For centuries, the Jewish people did this. Removing the "excess" skin from one particular area of their body, as a symbolic reminder that they are to be a people "set apart." Granted, it's a visible reminder that only they see... but a reminder, nonetheless.

Fast-forward to the time of Jeremiah. God knows the people have gone astray - in a major way. They've lost their distinctiveness. They've forgotten what it means to not only be faithful to god, but loving, kind, & generous to one another. God, therefore, calls for a new kind of circumcision: the heart! Biologists will tell us that there's no "extra skin" covering our hearts... but back in Biblical times the heart was seen as the center of a person's will. It was not only the home of feelings, but also thoughts and decisions. God wants the people to rid themselves of anything that gets in the way of their entire being being able to follow the LORD.

Once we get past the initial uncomfortableness of thinking about circumcision in a "devotional context," it's fascinating to me to imagine how distinctive we Christians can actually be. Few people ever see a man's circumcision (and rightly so!)... but if/when they do, there's no doubt about it! It's easy to tell when a person is circumcised. How cool if the same could be said about our hearts!?! What if people "could tell" that our hearts were circumcised to God? What if we, as Christians, loved others in such a way that everyone who came in contact with us just knew something was different? What if our lives were so aligned with God's will that others "could tell"? I dare say this world would be a heck of a better place.

So what are we waiting for?

PRAYER: Remove the foreskin from my heart, Lord. I want to live my life the way You created me to! May everyone be able to see You through my heart and my life. AMEN.