Circumcision = ?

This year I’m reading chapter-by-chapter through the New Testament not only with a bunch of you, but also with my ten-year-old son. Doing that makes you notice things you might not have otherwise. Like … how often circumcision is brought up in Paul’s letters, as it was again in today’s reading (Colossians 2). When your son asks you, for the third time, “What’s circumcision again dad?” And then responds to your explanation with another, “Ewwwww,” you realize it was a major issue back then.

So this morning I was thinking, “What would be the equivalent today?” Back then people were teaching that if you were circumcised you were right with God. Paul argued, vehemently and repeatedly, that circumcision (on it’s on) had no value, that it’s all about Jesus and faith in Him.

So I prayed, “What’s today’s equivalent?” And I think it’s …. church attendance. Right? Back then, most people who were circumcised thought they were okay with God, even though they were not, because they had the right external, but their hearts weren’t right. And today most people who go to church think they’re okay with God, even though they may not be, because they have the right external, but the real question is whether their hearts are right.

Do you agree? Why? Or if you think it’s not church but something else, what’s the something else?