I recently went to the dentist to have some composite fillings replaced. The ones in question had been there for several years; but apparently the wear and tear of slicing and gnawing my way through tons of fried chicken had adversely impacted them to the point that they simply had to be replaced.
So, I resolved myself to the fact that I had to go under the drill and marched forth to meet my fate. Imagine my surprise to discover that the worse part of it was right up front. I received a shot or two in my gum line; and in short order, it was quite numb. Thereafter, about all I felt was a little tugging. I also managed to hear a lot of drilling and grinding; though I felt none of the effects.
Still, beyond what I felt and what I heard, there was what I saw. Every so often, a light blinked. At first, I thought the lights in the dental office had flickered. After the process repeated itself, and hearing no comment on that possibility from either the dentist or the technician, I pondered other explanations.
It eventually crossed my mind that the numbing agent might have perhaps affected a nerve; and that this was somehow causing me to see the proverbial stars, as it were. But I discarded this thought once I picked up on an unfolding repetitive parallel. Shortly before the light appeared, each and every time, the dentist would say the word “Cure”. Thereafter, the light would flash.
Now, anyone who has endured such a procedure knows that it can be hard to talk under the circumstances. My gums were numb; cotton or some such material had been packed into my mouth to hold my lips apart; and, along with two pairs of hands, an entire array of dental equipment was constantly entering and/or departing my mouth.
Nonetheless, inquiring minds want to know! And so, I raised my hand to indicate I needed a pause, and was given the opportunity to speak. I then inquired as to the origins and purpose of the mysteriously recurring flashes of light.
The explanation was simple and straightforward. Whatever substance the composite fillings were comprised of was “cured” by the ultraviolent light. In some way, the light stimulated the materiel at a molecular level, agitating the particles and causing them to bond in a way that they otherwise would not have been able to accomplish.
Who’d a thunk it?! Light cured! Light bonded! Light made whole that which was broken! Light made strong that which was weak!
As I sat there reclined within the confines of the dental chair, the words of the Apostle John (in chapter 1, verse 7, of his First New Testament Epistle) kept coming to my mind: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Amen! And amen! He Who claimed to be the light of the world came into the midst of darkness and made whole the brokenness we all suffer. He came also to make us strong, not in our own strength, but in and through the strength and power He alone possesses and provides.
Given all these things, my plea to my dentist was a simple one: “Light me up, Doc!” My weakened and broken teeth needed what he alone could do for them. Likewise, my plea to my Heavenly Father is exactly the same: “Light me up, Lord! As only You can do, come and fix my broken soul and make me strong!”
In the words of the hymn writer of old…
I heard an old, old story,
How a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary
To save a wretch like me;
I heard about His groaning,
Of His precious blood's atoning,
Then I repented of my sins
And won the victory.
I heard about His healing,
Of His cleansing pow'r revealing.
How He made the lame to walk again
And caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, "Dear Jesus,
Come and heal my broken spirit,"
And somehow Jesus came and bro't
To me the victory.
O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.
Amen! And again I say, Amen!
SCRIPTURE SOURCE:
https://biblehub.com/1_john/1-7.htm.
SEE ALSO: Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John as found in John 8:12, John 9:5, John 12:46, all available at the same website.
HYMN LYRICS SOURCE:
https://hymnlyrics.org/mostpopularhymns/victory_in_jesus.html.
So, I resolved myself to the fact that I had to go under the drill and marched forth to meet my fate. Imagine my surprise to discover that the worse part of it was right up front. I received a shot or two in my gum line; and in short order, it was quite numb. Thereafter, about all I felt was a little tugging. I also managed to hear a lot of drilling and grinding; though I felt none of the effects.
Still, beyond what I felt and what I heard, there was what I saw. Every so often, a light blinked. At first, I thought the lights in the dental office had flickered. After the process repeated itself, and hearing no comment on that possibility from either the dentist or the technician, I pondered other explanations.
It eventually crossed my mind that the numbing agent might have perhaps affected a nerve; and that this was somehow causing me to see the proverbial stars, as it were. But I discarded this thought once I picked up on an unfolding repetitive parallel. Shortly before the light appeared, each and every time, the dentist would say the word “Cure”. Thereafter, the light would flash.
Now, anyone who has endured such a procedure knows that it can be hard to talk under the circumstances. My gums were numb; cotton or some such material had been packed into my mouth to hold my lips apart; and, along with two pairs of hands, an entire array of dental equipment was constantly entering and/or departing my mouth.
Nonetheless, inquiring minds want to know! And so, I raised my hand to indicate I needed a pause, and was given the opportunity to speak. I then inquired as to the origins and purpose of the mysteriously recurring flashes of light.
The explanation was simple and straightforward. Whatever substance the composite fillings were comprised of was “cured” by the ultraviolent light. In some way, the light stimulated the materiel at a molecular level, agitating the particles and causing them to bond in a way that they otherwise would not have been able to accomplish.
Who’d a thunk it?! Light cured! Light bonded! Light made whole that which was broken! Light made strong that which was weak!
As I sat there reclined within the confines of the dental chair, the words of the Apostle John (in chapter 1, verse 7, of his First New Testament Epistle) kept coming to my mind: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Amen! And amen! He Who claimed to be the light of the world came into the midst of darkness and made whole the brokenness we all suffer. He came also to make us strong, not in our own strength, but in and through the strength and power He alone possesses and provides.
Given all these things, my plea to my dentist was a simple one: “Light me up, Doc!” My weakened and broken teeth needed what he alone could do for them. Likewise, my plea to my Heavenly Father is exactly the same: “Light me up, Lord! As only You can do, come and fix my broken soul and make me strong!”
In the words of the hymn writer of old…
I heard an old, old story,
How a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary
To save a wretch like me;
I heard about His groaning,
Of His precious blood's atoning,
Then I repented of my sins
And won the victory.
I heard about His healing,
Of His cleansing pow'r revealing.
How He made the lame to walk again
And caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, "Dear Jesus,
Come and heal my broken spirit,"
And somehow Jesus came and bro't
To me the victory.
O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.
Amen! And again I say, Amen!
SCRIPTURE SOURCE:
https://biblehub.com/1_john/1-7.htm.
SEE ALSO: Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John as found in John 8:12, John 9:5, John 12:46, all available at the same website.
HYMN LYRICS SOURCE:
https://hymnlyrics.org/mostpopularhymns/victory_in_jesus.html.