Some may wonder why we would celebrate this Jewish ceremony being devout Christian believers. I would love to share our convictions with you to the fullest extent but I think for Blogspot I'll give the nutshell version. We feel that although this (and other) Jewish traditions/commandments/laws are not commonly practiced in the Christian church, God is still honored by our keeping of them. There is no saving power other than Christs' Blood sacrifice that covers sin, and we don't believe that these actions merit a place in heaven on their own but instead show a humble and obedient heart to the Lord. This thought is often met with scorn from Christians, with the rebuttal that we are released from the law and there is no need or requirement to keep the Jewish Law. For our family though, we don't look at it this way. After Christ, who was Jewish, came saving all ethnic groups it became a universal God thing, not a Jewish thing.
So, for us, we celebrate our son, giving him back to the Lord with the shedding of blood via circumcision- honoring the commandment God gave His people. This shedding of blood entered Abraham into covenant with God looking forward to Messiah's shed blood as salvation for all.
On to the ceremony:
Dr. Kulbersh a local Ob/Gyn, by recommendation from Beth Shalom Synagogue, agreed to perform the circ. We met in his office. Jacob, Bethany and Lucy attended, as well as my mother and my hubby and of course the star of the show, Levi. Jacob read some scriptures. Steve served communion. Then L. was circumcised. S. gave the reason behind his name, (L. W.) and Dr. Kulbersh spoke a blessing over L.
It was a difficult thing to watch as a mother, but it was quick and L. did beautifully. God doesn't call us to a life of ease, but rather to pick up our cross and follow Him. There are sacrifices of the flesh that we all must make, for me it was my desire to protect my son, and for L. it was a literal sacrifice of a bit of flesh. Our prayer is that Levi grows into a strong man of God, and as his name reflects that 'God will be his portion'.
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