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We know that circumcision was a mark God gave to Abraham and his descendants as a mark of the covenant He was making with them. There were people like Abraham among them who believed and trusted in God, but for most others, it was just a physical symbol of belonging to Israel. But when we come to the new covenant which God has made with all people through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, there is no more such an external symbol. The new covenant has to do with our heart. When we go to God after being convicted of our sinfulness and receive His forgiveness by faith, God gives to us a new heart and a new spirit (Ez.36:25-27). This is regeneration. We who were dead in sin now become dead to sin.

This gives us new desires, a hatred for the old sinful ways, and a new direction of following Jesus and walking in His ways (1Jn.2:6). This is the evidence of the new birth, and not having repeated a prayer, taken baptism, or joined a church. Since, unfortunately, there are so many people who have not really heard the true Gospel, many are just assuming that they are Christians, without any such regeneration from God's part.

This circumcision of the heart – cutting away the old way of life in our heart – will continue to be our mark as children of light (Ro.2:29;Php.3:3). We must be aware of this, and be careful to maintain this characteristic about us. We must not become people who can only look back to a date when they were born again but who now live just like everyone else. God is constantly working in us in this direction, and it is our responsibility to cooperate with Him every time (Php.2:12,13). The tendency to take things for granted is always around, and if we just allow our eyes to move away from Jesus we can easily backslide, just as well as the next person.

One very common mistake that happens among us Christians is that instead of maintaining the circumcision of our heart, we satisfy ourselves with merely watching over our external behaviour – what we do and speak, which others can notice. Then we are actually more careful about what people think about us than what God sees in us. But if we follow in that direction, we will soon lose the circumcision of the heart, and slowly become as if we were never born again. The right way to live is before the all-seeing eyes of God who examines even the motives and intentions of the heart. For this we have to train ourselves to be totally open before God, humble and honest, not seeking to hide or find excuses for ourselves.

Walking before God will produce changes in our life. For one thing, we will become less worried about what people think about us, but very sensitive about what God thinks. Just think about what God has prepared for His children, that we can have the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit abiding in us (Jn.14:23). This is the fellowship John the apostle was talking about (1Jn.1:3). How foolish it would be to settle for less or other things?

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