Galatians 6:12-14
As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
Few battles have been harder and more sorrowful fought by me than those with “religious” people. Religion is so easy, but faith… woah baby! There’s nothing easy about it, although it should be the other way around. The Abrahamic Covenant of circumcision was commanded in Genesis 17:7-14 as an outward sign of a man’s participation in Israel’s covenant with God.
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
The covenant still stands, but no longer by an outward observance, but by an inward commitment. And yet, the world is constantly in need of an outward sign that we have an inward Savior. Something, anything that they can do. They want the law because that makes good sense to them; but when you think back about the road leading to that Abrahamic Covenant, are they willing to follow through? The point of the whole Abrahamic Covenant was that Abraham was willing to kill his own son, his only son because God had ask it. And because of his faith that God would take care of him, God covenanted with Abraham to insure that his descendants would forever be provided for. I’ll take faith any day!
Faith is not hard for me when I look back through history and see that God has indeed done everything He promised for Israel. Jesus didn’t come to break the covenant, He came to fulfil it! And because of His sacrifice, Shari Johnson, the non-Jewish girl has been grafted into the family of God. Mercy and Grace, that’s what I call it!
So, regarding my comment on battling the religious… The religious I’ve battled have been those who look at me in the flesh, the sinful, mistaken ridden Shari who fails God daily. They criticize my zeal and mock my stand for separation from the world. They cannot see inside my heart is a passion for their soul regardless of whether or not they love me. It is only there because of what Christ did on the cross for me. It came with salvation. What they don’t understand is , I didn’t ask for that part of salvation; the “unconditional love for others part” that sometimes I’d like to give back. But it was a package deal. And I’m glad, because I too need it.
Because I’m an utter failure there are often things in my life that don’t point to the cross, except one – the covenant of love for God’s people that makes me want to see every one of them heading towards that land… the Promised Land.