The Steward and Circumcision

I have always wondered what it meant when we are called the ":circumcision" (Phil. 3:3) and now I am realizing how that is an aspect of being a Steward.  The circumcision of the Jewish man was a private mark or cut that was hidden from the world unless discovered like Moses was.  The woman who found him in the basket noticed that the boy was an Israelite with one glance.

Jesus talked about the circumcision of the heart that occurs when one is born again.  True the heart is hidden from view, also, but it manifests the cut in the flesh life - the life of self-sustaining, self-interest, self-centeredness, self-ishness, etc. as one becomes a Steward.  The mark of circumcision in the life of the Steward is the fact that what the world holds dear not longer has value for her in comparison to the life given over to the Master's use.

Jesus was circumcised from all He "owned" when He left the Heavens to come to earth.  It was all cut away...the power, the glory, the position, the ownership as king, His name and wealth.  In the earth he was a no-name, born in poverty as an out of wedlock child, not recognized for his power and knowledge and title - who had his chance at fame, His three years in the sun, and then died broken, alone and defeated by the world.  Who could have known that a member of the supreme godhead would be so circumcized as to even having his very flesh cut off from the world.

Who could have known that in His circumcision, we, too, were circumcised of the flesh life only to rise to higher levels of life then unknown to a human being as we were also raised again all the way to Heaven's thrown..  Recognizing yourself as a Steward of the Most High God is recognizing that you have been circumcised of the flesh life and are called to live that publically - not keeping it a secret that all that belongs to this world is as dung compared to knowing Christos and the Life that comes with Him.

I am learning these deep truths, but I still struggle to live in the reality of them on a daily basis.  But, I am getting quicker at recognizing the fact that I have fallen back into old ways.  Knowing the truth is very important in recognizing the lie and deception, otherwise, a self-centered life seems normal, routine and happy.  And that is the greatest error we can live in.  I am ready for the fullness of resurrection life!