Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. 19 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.
One of the funniest things about watching cartoons was seeing the eyes of a character pop out about 5 inches when they were surprised by something. Now imagine a Jewish Christian in the middle of the first century, hearing someone read these verses to them. This letter was written not long after the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15, where the issue was settled by the leaders. Circumcision would not be required of a Gentile new believer. The church in Corinth would have been made aware of that since Paul planted the church after that decision. Still, the shock of hearing that the most important covenant symbol from Abraham to Malachi counted for nothing. It must have sent their heads spinning.
There is scarcely a time when I read the Bible that my eyes do not pop out just a bit at some revelation God showed me in that morning’s reading. That is the beauty of the Christian walk. We never stop going around the learning curve. It never straightens out. God will always tell you something you did not know. We have been called to a purpose. Let us live to that purpose and see what purpose comes next as God shows us even more about himself and us.
Dear Lord, thank you that the Christian life is a never ending learning curve that is never straight. Help us to trust you to get us around the curve to the purpose you have for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church