"Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer."
Deuteronomy 10:16 (NIV)
If normal circumcision is painful (if you doubt that, watch this clip from The Nativity Story from 3:46 and on...) then circumcision of the heart must be really painful! You may say, "This is figurative John. Moses isn't talking about your organ that pumps blood." And you are correct. God wasn't talking about the organ we call the heart in Genesis 8, nor in Deuteronomy 10, but there will be real pain. Even the people of Israel had a problem with the evil inclination of their hearts and they were commanded to cut the evil out of their hearts.
This passage gives us the clearest definition of the spiritual meaning of the word, "heart". Our heart controls our actions, our heart is our will. We always find a way to do evil, for where there is a will, there is a way. To love God is to keep His requirements, His decrees, His laws and commands forever. It isn't just a warm feeling of adoration towards a God who loved us and chose us to be His! Love requires us to make the painful choice to bring justice for those who can't defend themselves and to give money and food to foreigners who live among us. Love requires us to cut away and kill the part of our heart that wants to fit in with the godless people who live all around us. It requires us to dare to worship and to wait for God to act on our behalf, instead of following the crowds and their belief and behaviour systems.
What a gift God has given us in our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ! "In HIM you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands." (Col. 2:11) May we submit to the Spirit today as He cuts away at our heart, removing those evil inclinations.
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