As I sat in the dentist’s chair today for my 6 month cleaning (first one in many years) and found out that although I don’t have any cavities I do have a tooth that due to the trauma from my accident is dead and so I have to have it pulled.  And upon hearing this I really thought about the relevance of our Christian walk and the dentist.  Now anyone who knows me knows that I am a man of analogies so hold on for this one.

As you know when you go to the dentist the first thing that they do is take x-rays and get an overall picture of where you are and the health of your teeth.  This is very similar to what we experience during salvation when the Holy Spirit convicts us of our overall health spiritually and explains to us that we are decaying and are going to hell if we don’t get cleaned up. 

Well next at the dentist is the cleaning, they come in with all sorts of tools and sprays and cleaning agents and start working on your teeth to get rid of the tarter and any gunk that might be built up.  In our Christian walk this is very much the same once we have been saved we spend time going to church and reading the word and trying to clean up our life and our hearts so that we can be acceptable and basically get rid of all the built up gunk. 

But at this point we still do not have a clean bill of health, you have to wait for the dentist to come look at your x-rays and tell you what; if any needs to be done next and then he will poke around in your mouth a little.  And finally the visit will end with a suggestion as to when to schedule your next appointment for the rest of the work if any.  Well again this is very similar to your Christian walk in that even after we get rid of the gunk that we know to be there it is still up to God and His standards on what needs to be done next.  And just as I have to go back to the dentist to have a tooth pulled because it has died, God will examine our heart and point out through personal convictions what needs to be removed and what can stay.

So the point of this analogy is that just as with the dentist and your teeth it is far easier to deal with any issues and see things before they go wrong.  The dentist only requires a 6 month checkup and cleaning.  But for your heart and your soul that requires a daily time of checkup.  And the only way to do this is to take time everyday to sit and read God’s word and allow Him to guide you on your health and where you need to floss or where He needs to use a metal hook!  Happy Brushing!

God Bless ~ Tyler