Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. (Galatians 5:2)
I've been hanging out on this verse, I know, maybe that sounds weird to you because it absolutely does to me.
I wasn't expecting to research and learn about the practice of circumcision, today, or any day for that matter.
For whatever reason, I just can't stop thinking about Paul telling these people not to accept it.
I am aware that when you study scripture, you need to take into account the context of what you're reading, the time period it was written and the people to which it was originally speaking to. However,
Maybe this appeal to not accept circumcision may apply to more than one timeline- if not all time since the cross.
I can hear the bewilderment in Paul. After appealing and reminding and chastising this church for falling back into religion and tradition, he throws up his hands and deduces it down to one phrase...
It's that moment that any parent recognizes. The moment that sums everything up you've been trying to get across.
You can hear it-- "Look, if you do this, it's going to ruin it all."
Now, I know we've gone into depth pursuing the why behind Paul's emotional and spiritual plea with this church - summarized, he absolutely didn't want these people compromising the completeness of Jesus, nothing else other than Him is needed for salvation- but, I was led to wonder on a completely different tangent, "If circumcision was so denied by Paul, why on Earth are so many babies circumcised today?"
Perhaps that's of no interest to you, but if an enemy could persuade people to "accept" circumcision- are there ramifications today for this same action, even if our motivations (at least in the United States) have nothing to do with religion? Listen, sometimes there are deeper meanings to things. First the natural, then the spiritual; right? What if circumcision, itself, is something we shouldn't accept?
hmmmmm.
I took a deep-dive into the history of this surgical practice and its prevalence in the US, it's actually incredibly interesting.
Circumcision while common in the US is NOT normal in the world.
Take a look HERE for one of the articles I found most fascinating.
The crazy reason that circumcision became so popular in the states has been reduced down to one particular, as Matthew Tontonoz says, “The ultimate popularity of circumcision depended not on convincing normal men to undergo the ordeal of surgery, but on targeting a group of patients who could not object.”
Bananas.
I had no idea this procedure wasn't common around the rest of the world and that, in fact, while the US attempts to increase this occurrence, most other countries are moving in the exact opposite way.
So here's where my thinking starts spinning. Is it possible that the act of circumcision (which was instituted by God in the Old Testament) when eradicated by the cross, may possibly still be something that separates us from the fullness of what Jesus made available IF we accept it? We didn't come up with this procedure- God did. So, it can't be deduced down to a medical breakthrough when it wasn't something discovered, you following me? If God introduced circumcision for a time and then took it off the table- why would we have it repackaged and reintroduced in a way that we would accept it?
But it has medical benefits, you say.
That was what I thought. Until I started researching and realized that the proposed medical benefits are hypothetical or untested or heavily reliant on cultural findings that have no consequence in other nations.
Ok, hold on to that thread as I give you another one to hold in tandem.
There are a lot of discussions among the many Believer Communities regarding the "taking back of" mantles, crowns and anointing that have been stolen by the enemy. If you're not aware of the second heaven reality or have no interest in it, I'll probably lose you here. However, Jesus told us in John 10:10 that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy while Jesus came for life in abundance. That life in Jesus includes the full restoration of anything that has been stolen, killed or destroyed. I would suggest that part of our opportunity to recover these things is to be aware of what they are.
Is it possible that circumcision is something that got repackaged and reintroduced by the enemy in at attempt to get people to unknowingly accept something that would create separation from the fullness of Christ?
I think so.
It's really not that far-fetched. Look at all the attempts of the enemy to get us to accept things not of God. There are rampant and excessive opportunities everywhere in our music, entertainment and culture. The devil has no authority (he does have power), he's only able to utilize that power through people that have given him their authority to wield in their lives. That's why the Lord warns all about what we are putting into minds and hearts and bodies. Everything you accept you give permission in your life for one of two influences to work.
So, if it's possible that circumcision could be something we are not to do- what next?
First off, I don't think God is punishing any of us that had our kids circumcised. My understanding of the fallout of any choice or circumstance that attempts to create separation between us and Him is that He IS redeemer, reconciler and restorer. It is His will to come in and erase those attempts to steal, kill or destroy. He doesn't just reveal areas that need to be dealt with- He brings the solution with Him. However, there is an order and function to creation that is far outside our understanding that while God doesn't cause or allow things necessarily, He does have an infrastructure that is honored because that's just the way He created things. If someone decided to repackage circumcision and everyone blindly agreed because the guy thought it cured things, it's possible that we all chose to do something God never asked us to do. And choices- even if well motivated- do have ramifications.
Maybe it's obsolete, maybe it's nothing. As for me, I decided to repent. I just told the Lord, if I accepted something in ignorance that you didn't ask me to do for my son- I see and acknowledge that and ask you for forgiveness and restoration. I also asked for an increase in wisdom and understanding of any area that has been made common in order to gain acceptance and ask for you to give me Your revelation and understanding of that area.
ps. I'm totally demonstrating an active thinking mind to you. It's ok to go deep with God. It's ok to be wrong about things. It's ok to question circumcision and start a conversation about it! You're actually not going to end your life by asking questions!
I can't believe I'm blogging about circumcision and the possibility of it being an attempt of the enemy to separate us from Jesus....
But, what if?
We know that the enemy persuades and manipulates to get us to come into agreement with him rather than God. We know that many attempts are not blatantly obvious and can come "packaged" in a way that is appealing or non-confrontational. The things that the devil has persuaded people to believe are common are often the places I find to be where kingdom has been replaced. It's THOSE places that freedom is available for us to take back and reinstate in the name of Jesus. Jesus said,
"From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force" Matthew 11:12
This isn't physical force, this is spiritual authority. We don' fight against flesh and blood, we fight in the second heaven (Ephesians 6:12). This is taking back that which belongs to God. In case you needed reminded all creation GROANS for the sons and daughters to be revealed (Romans 8:22). I seriously think part of this expectation is the taking back of what Jesus' purchased on the cross through the restoration of such places that we have allowed as common instead of taking ground for kingdom.
Could I be totally, off? Sure! However, having these types of conversations is exactly where we learn. Learning, weighing, and discerning happens as we ask questions and search for answers. You have to be willing to ask in order to receive revelation and understanding (James 4:1-3). If you read this portion of James, it's interesting that this verse comes in the context of "what causes quarrels and fights among us?" Maybe, our opinions get in the way of God's desire to reveal IN conversations and questions...maybe we all need to be malleable enough to hear and see things that aren't exactly in line with what we currently believe or think in order to hear and see the things of God, maybe?
To add even more to think about, there is that little detail about Paul encouraging Timothy to be circumcised in Acts (and ultimately refusing to circumcise Titus).
Click HERE to read another interesting take.
The fact of the matter is that Paul lived through the growth of the church and as he did, context and rules changed in order to preserve the Gospel. Where practices- like circumcision- were habitual rather than religious for new converts in one season- it became a control and addition to the Gospel (ergo wrong) in another season. It is possible that the lesson is only, nothing can add to the Gospel and accepting anything as "an addition" creates separation.
Yet, it's still so odd to me that such a barbaric procedure would hang around as an option, then. I mean, are men just lining up across the world to have this done out of desire? I think not. And, I agree with the author of the first article I was discussing in that the populace that is the most affected by this is the most defenseless group that cannot make the decision for themselves....that is weird to me. We are doing this to babies for no other reason than it being common and has some proposed future health-risk benefits.
Still weird to me.
And, God works in the weird.
I mean, can you imagine a time that the world was looking for a virgin teenager that was supernaturally pregnant with God's son and the Savior of the universe? weird.
Yet, what we think is logical and how God works are generally FARRR different (1 Corinthians 1:27).
While this post began with highlighting circumcision and delving into why we practice it extensively in the US while taking into consideration Paul's admonition to "not accept it", is it possible the more important question is:
"what have we accepted as common without hesitation that should actually be different?"
How many things are currently normal choices and circumstances in our lives that should be different? What are those things? Are these areas we can pinpoint, repent and take back for the kingdom? Where are our blindspots?
What do you think?
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