I’m not bragging, but my teeth only have a handful of fillings and a couple of crowns. I would guess that, especially for someone with my life experience, I have better than average dental health. When I went in for my semiannual cleaning a couple of weeks ago, I was surprised when they told me I had a cavity. That would be disappointing enough, but the cavity was next to one of my fillings.
Fast forward to this morning, I sat down in the chair and the dentist brought in the big needle with the numbing stuff. You might think I would be apprehensive, but that part doesn’t bother me at all (that isn’t to say I enjoy the poke of the needle). I put in earbuds to listen to some music, and my dentist goes to work.
I put the earbuds in because I cringe when I hear the dentist’s drill. I don’t know what it is about that sound, but to me, it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard. I was sitting there trying to decide if I hated that sound. As a quick reminder, as we raised our son, we told I’m that to hate something was to wish it didn’t exist, including all the associated ramifications. So, if you say you hate someone, you are saying you wish they never existed. Or, if you say you hate mosquitoes, you wish they never existed, along with all the animals that depend on them for food. We did this so he would reserve the word hate for only limited situations. I realized I could not say I hated the sound of the dentist's drill without being hypocritical to the moral lesson we worked so hard to teach our son.
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” - Psalm 139:13-14, 21-24 ESV
When the dentist finished, he went through his list of what I could expect while the anesthesia wore off. I asked him the question I ask almost everyone that we engage for services, “Will this last me the rest of my life?” I was surprised when he quickly answered, “Yes.” He then explained that when you have to drill the old filling out to put in a new one, you create a much bigger hole to fill. So, if a new cavity developed, we would be talking about a crown because a new filling wouldn’t be an option. Then he turned the question to me by asking if I would have any more cavities the rest of my life. I realized he was reminding me I was responsible for the daily task that had the best chance of preventing future cavities.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” - James 4:7-10
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” - Hebrews 10:19-25
This reminds me that growing closer to God is a two-way path. God will draw closer to me but wants me to move toward him, too. God allows me to decide whether to be open to his influence in my faith walk or to put roadblocks up between him and me. Please God, let me do the former.
