Cutting Around Hearts

UV 2043/10000 Cutting Around Hearts
And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Deuteronomy 30 v 6

To circumcise is to cut all around what is not essential. The Lord circumcises our hearts or cuts all around to remove any coating or traces of pride, deceit, lust, hatred, fear, doubts, suspicions, bitterness. These emotions and traits harden our hearts against the Lord just as Pharaoh’s heart was hardened against God’s will to let the Hebrew people go. It causes us to loose our fear or reverence for the Lord. He teaches our children too in the same way. He does it through the on-going work of the Holy Spirit at move in us. The process of circumcision is painful but it is also gainful in that when our hearts are so freed from all these blessing blockers, relationship blockers and communication blockers, we are able to relate to the Father as mature children of God. The process is lifelong and is often done through our tough experiences and trials.

The Word is the scalpel, the blade the Holy Spirit uses skilfully to cut around our hearts. He restores our hearts to their pristine condition and removes the dross or impurities in our faith. Our hearts will then always remind us that we belong to the Lord and everything we do and have belongs to Him even as He belongs to us. It is a mark of ownership and a stamp or seal of approval that we now are “kingdom quality.” Our hearts are healed by the process of its natural depravity. We learn how to love the Lord with all our hearts, with all our minds and all our strength.

The spiritual circumcision is also called the circumcision of Christ as the body of sins of the flesh are removed from us. Our hearts of rebellion are transformed into hearts of trust and obedience. We learn from the example and Word of Christ that to live well is to love God and to love God is to live fully and well. The greatest sacrifice that the Lord desires of us in response to the sacrifice of Christ is the surrender or sacrifice of our hearts, day after day to Him. Our hearts so sanctified is the innermost place of the tabernacle, the place of continual worship.

Prateep V Philip