In reflecting on the majesty of the Lord his Maker, David, the psalmist of Israel wrote, “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalm 139:1414I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. (Psalm 139:14)). Of the original creation, we read, “God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:3131And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)). However, we know from God’s Word that sin soon entered into the beautiful creation. Adam and Eve sinned when they disobeyed God and ate fruit from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. We have been reaping the consequences of that sin and of our own sin ever since. Those consequences include suffering, sorrow, pain and death.
One part of our bodies that has been fearfully and wonderfully made is our teeth. We should be thankful for healthy teeth that enable us to enjoy the many varieties of food God has graciously provided for our nourishment. We need to take care of our teeth, because food particles not removed from them can cause decay. This requires a trip to the dentist, who will drill out the decay and replace it with a filling.
Recently, I told my dentist that, while chewing, I was feeling pain in my lower right wisdom tooth. He looked into my mouth and said he couldn’t see any problem, but that he would take an X-ray. The X-ray revealed that there was decay underneath an old filling. I had two options: I could either have him try to repair the tooth or I could have the tooth extracted.
This reminded me of what we read in the Bible about sin. It isn’t always apparent at first glance, but when we consider what God says about it, we learn that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). The Word of God reveals what is hidden in our hearts.
I chose to have my wisdom tooth extracted and had to make an appointment with another dentist to do that job. We all have an appointment that must be kept, as a result of our sin. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)). We are thankful that God has a remedy for sin that is available to anyone who takes God at His word and accepts the remedy He has provided. The next verse tells us, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:2828So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:28)). I hope that everyone reading this is trusting in the Saviour, who shed His blood to wash their sins away.
After the dentist did the extraction, I asked if I could have my tooth. The dental assistant gave it to me in a plastic bag. It was interesting to see the decay, now so clearly evident under the old filling. Now that the tooth was no longer alive, the decayed part blackened over the next few days, and I was very thankful it was no longer in my mouth. If you have received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you have been cleansed from your sin, and you have been given a new life. Are you thankful? We trust you are thankful for this great salvation provided by God at such great cost. We trust that you can say, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:1515Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. (2 Corinthians 9:15)).