READ: DEUTERONOMY 29 - 30; PSALM 114
PASSAGE TO REFLECT: DEUTERONOMY 30:6
And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
REFLECT:
God through Moses had outlined the wonderful blessings that the Israelites would enjoy if they walked in God's ways, and the curses that would follow if they departed. But God already knew the terrible quandary the Israelites would encounter - good intentions but poor follow-through. What Jesus said of His disciples on the night of His arrest rings true for all humanity - the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. God knew that nearly every Israelite would want to walk in God's ways of blessings but all would fail to do so. And they would all face the terrible consequences that come with disobedience. So God took the initiative to ensure that His people had a fighting chance to walk in His ways. He would circumcise the people's hearts.
Circumcision is a mark of belonging. Several chapters earlier, we learned of how slaves who wanted to remain with their masters had the lobe of their ear pierced to indicate that they belonged to their masters for life. Physical circumcision marked the Israelites as belonging to God. That too was for life, for a person could not 'uncircumcise' himself. These were permanent marks of belonging.
Some years ago, a friend gave me an expensive and very good pen with my name inscribed on it. I am very proud of that pen because it has my name engraved on it. Whenever I use the pen, it declares to those around that the pen belongs to Chiu Ming Li. And I don't throw it around carelessly. It sits securely in my locked drawer and I take it out to sign important documents. Despite it's great value to me, and it's obvious original price, the pen has no value to anyone else. Who wants to walk around with a pen that proudly proclaims that it belongs to Chiu Ming Li? This pen has my mark on it, and it is precious to me; but it has no value to anyone else.
God wanted the Israelites to know that they belonged to Him for life. Not just physically, but in their hearts as well. Not only did He put His mark on them physically, but He would inscribe His Name on their hearts. "God's!" their hearts would declare.
RELATE
What does it mean for God to circumcise our hearts? It means that our hearts will then belong to God. First, it assures us that God will protect our hearts to love what he loves and hate what He hates. Our hearts will be aligned with God's heart. When we see things or incidents that hurt God, we will feel the pain. Conversely, we will enjoy the things that God enjoys. In fact we will be so passionate for things that God feels strongly for that what may seem boring or hard work to others, we may see as exciting challenges.
Second, it means that God will look for us when we have strayed and are lost. Jesus' parable of the Lost Sheep assures us that our good shepherd does not simply abandon us or 'cut losses' when we have gone astray. Rather, He will risk everything just to get us back. We are safe in His fold, and when we escape from His fold and run into danger, He will search us out. I was 5 when I naively told God I belonged to Him. He has never let me go since. At first I was very frustrated at this. And regretted telling God that I belonged to Him. Each time I wanted to live my life my way, He would pull me back. I told God many times to get out of my life and leave me alone. That was in my younger days. These days I simply feel safe. I feel safe in the assurance that no matter how far I have strayed, God would pull me back to safety. But more than that, I feel safe in the assurance that my loved ones who have similarly told God they belong to Him, will also be kept safe in their hearts. God will always bring them home.
Third, those whose hearts have "God's" inscribed on them have very little value to the world. I do not mean they are of no value to the suffering world. Infact, because God loves the world so much, each of His own will be of great value to the suffering world. What I mean is that those who belong to God will have no value in worldly pursuits. We will have values that will inevitably clash with the world's. We will value faith rather than fear. We will value love rather than suspicion, and inclusion rather than exclusion. We will value giving more than taking. We will value mercy over revenge. We will value humility over rivalry.
When our hearts have God's Name engraved on them, what we prize, what we value will be changed gradually to what God prizes and values. And we will have God's assurance that we will be changed moment by moment, day by day, to think the way God thinks, to feel like how God feels, and to feel very safe in God.
How can we get our hearts circumcised? This passage tells us that circumcision is God's initiative. Just like the piercing of the slave's ear, it is the master who pierces the ear. The slave simply says "I want to belong to you for life". The master does the rest. Likewise, we simply say to God, "Father I belong to you. put your mark on my heart". The rest is God's job. And you can be very sure God will do His job. Because He is passionate about marking you as His child.
REST
Take a moment of silence. In this moment, tell God you want to have His mark on your heart. Tell Him that you know your heart is unstable and that you will stray easily. Then ask Him to assure you that when you do stray, He will bring you safely home and that He will draw your heart back to Him.
Chiu Ming Li
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