I’ve never been a huge fan of visiting the dentist. Ten years at boarding school eating too many sweets took their toll. My teenage years were spent having countless fillings, and in the years since I’ve had a root canal done twice and an extraction. But things sank to yet another level when I left my most recent dental check-up with a prescription for toothpaste! My dentist had cheerfully informed me that I had gum disease, which turns out not to be a disease at all, but a genetic predisposition to weak bones which deteriorate more quickly than they should. I’m reminded yet again that my body is subject to decay and bits of it are starting to wear out.
But I’m not disheartened by this news because the Bible reassures me that the whole of creation, of which I am but one tiny part, is all subject to decay, but that’s not the end of the story. St Paul writes that God’s plan is for creation to ‘be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into glorious freedom.’
So, I’ll be using my special toothpaste and doing my best to keep my teeth as long as I can, happy in the knowledge that a perfect set of choppers is just around the corner!
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