On Circumcision - From Dad

Circumcision. A term that makes most men cringe. A little over 2 weeks ago, on the eight day of David’s life outside of his mom, he was circumcised. Although we did not have the pomp and circumstances of the Old Testament ceremony (we were in the side room of the NICU with all the breast milk and baby supplies), I took some time earlier that day to look back at this ancient Jewish tradition in God's word.

Basically, before David’s birth I never really studied circumcision from a father’s point of view. I thought that circumcision was just a Jewish ceremonial thing, which I took part in and my son (if I would ever have one) would also take part in. I can honestly say I never believed I would ever have to make that decision. But then May 16, 2008 came and at 4:17 in the morning I saw my baby boy and now circumcision was a very real decision along with so much more.

As I fingered through my 20 year old NIV Study Bible I received from my parents as a graduation gift from high school (yes, 20 years ago) I found something that showed that this ceremonial act was truly relevant to our family. In chapter 17 of Genesis, God instructed Abraham to circumcise all of the males on the eight day after their birth. I always understood circumcision to be man’s act in response to following God. But as I read the passage something much deeper revealed itself. In verse 11 this act was the sign of the covenant that God made to Abraham earlier in chapter 15, with the smoking fire pot and the blazing torch (i.e. God) that passed through the line of dead animals signifying His oath, the Covenant to Abraham regarding the land he would inherit. Like the rainbow, this was something to remind the Jewish nation of God’s promise.

But on the flip side the New Testament doesn’t put circumcision in a very positive light. Look at how the Apostle Paul ripped on the Jewish Christians who were trying to make all of their non-Jewish Christian converts go through circumcision. (Ouch…I bet the Jewish Christians didn’t mention that during their “witnessing” time.) When circumcision was taken out of the context of “God’s promise” and turned into a “rite of passage” for old believers to weald over new believers, it lost its meaning.

So I came to the conclusion: when circumcision is looked at as “works” (something super spiritual) it means nothing. Paul says that in 1 Cor. 7: 17-24. God did everything regarding the covenant with Abraham. Circumcision is a sign in the flesh that every male Jew would see everyday (if they drink enough water) that God loved them and made a promise to Abraham. And in a similar way, it’s like salvation for the Christian. If we try to do works like baptism, tithing, and honorable living to earn our salvation they mean nothing. Jesus did everything needed. We just need to accept and believe.

Donna and I didn’t take this decision lightly nor did we deeply contemplate all the vast implications of circumcision. In a way, we kind of both knew David would be circumcised but now we both understand why this is a beautiful sign. So we held each other tight as our doctor performed the surgery and prayed that David would grow into a man after God’s own heart and that we would be faithful servants with this precious gift He has given us.

Okay, that’s a little too much depth for a baby blog site. David is doing great. He’s healing from the surgery, he’s peeing (sometimes on mommy and daddy when they change him) which is a better sign that he’s healing. He’s pooping and making all kinds of funny faces and noises while in the act, which is another healthy sign. And he is just a delight in our household. We are so blessed.

*All of these beautiful pictures of father and son were taken right after David's circumcision. We were able to hold him while he rested and recovered before taking him home for the first time.