Circumcision of the Heart

Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man (Luke 5:8).

A man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code (Romans 2:29).

When [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt....(Jn. 16:8).

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One sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is that of remorse, of consciousness that we have sinned, that we have hurt others, knowingly or unknowingly.  When we weep, or when we could weep, for our sins, we know that the Spirit of God is "circumcising our hearts." 

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the younger son "comes to his senses" and says, "Father, I have sinned agains heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men" (Luke15:18).  When we can finally admit that we have sinned, we are finally ready for restoration.  And in the parable, Jesus gives us the mind of the Father, Who is waiting and watching to clothe us with the robe and the ring and to throw a party on our behalf. 

Restoration is a glorious event!  Even before Peter denied Jesus, he knew he was a sinful man.  What he had not experienced was the love of God to restore him to his place as son.  Once he was restored, he could never forget the depths from which he had been raised; he could never again look down on the sinner.  He knew his role was to lift up and restore men to the service of God.

Psalm 32 portrays the emotion of the man who has recognized and admitted his sin:

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him

and in whose spirit is no deceit.

When I kept silent,

my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long.

For day and night

your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was sapped

as in the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you

and did not cover up my iniquity.

I said, "I will confess

my trangressions to the Lord" --

and you forgave the guilt of my sin....

What happens next in the Psalm is God's response:

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you and watch over you

(alternate translation:  I will guide you with mine eye).

Do not be like the horse or the mule,

which have no understanding

but must be controlled by the bit and bridle

or they will not come to you....

Until we recognize that we are sinners to the bone, that we have no insight or understanding as to the way in which we should walk, we are not receptive to the "eye" of God, to His counsel, advice, or direction.  We are hell-bent on going our own way, thinking like teen-agers that we know it all.  I love the translation that says, "I will guide you with mine eye."  The child who watches his/her mother's eye knows exactly what to do; he is sensitive to the mind and will of the mother, and he responds to her without words. 

I once had a dog like this; she was very aware of and sensitive to my moods and my direction.  She would do nothing that displeased me, so she was a great joy to have around.  I did not have to yell, or put her in time out, or hit her with the newspaper.  If she only knew what I wanted, she would do it.  As one of my children put it, "Ginger was the poster-child for the good Christian life." 

That is the relationship God wants to have with us; if we are sensitive to Him, He will guide us with His "eye."  We will not need correction.  And the only way we can be sensitive to Him is to recognize that we do not "know it all," to know that unless He does guide us, we will inevitably choose the wrong path and regret it.  Until I knew this, I could not understand why we had to admit we were "sinners."  I did not think I was so bad, at least, not as bad as "some people I know":).  Now I understand that without God's direction, I have no chance of doing the right thing, or walking in the right path.  I am like the horse and the mule that needs the bit and the bridle.  And I welcome the direction of the Most High every day, for He sees what I cannot see, and His hand directs me away from the evil that dries up my strength as in the heat of summer. Now, I am happy to admit that I am a sinner, and I am happy to live in my Father's house, not as a servant, but as a restored child.