Sin and Cavities

I went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago for a checkup. I switched from my former dentist to Dr. Patterson. It had been more than six months since my last checkup so I should have seen this coming. After a thorough cleaning by the hygienist, Dr. Patterson comes in to take a look. Hmmm it appears I had not one but two cavities! One on the top left and one on the bottom right. Fast forward two weeks and I am back in Dr. Patterson's office getting ready for the procedure. As you probably know, when you have a mouth full of novacaine, drills, picks and fingers it is rather hard to do any talking so I just started thinking. I started thinking about the cavity in my mouth and how I did not even know it was there. Had it not been for Dr. Patterson finding it I would have still been walking around with these cavities eating away at my teeth. I starting thinking about spiritual cavities, also known as sin, in my life and how the Holy Spirit convicts me of my sin. Once He does I have to go after it as hard as I can. Dr. Patterson was drilling, scraping and picking away at the cavity to get every piece of it out of my tooth. If he left any part any of it, it would simply continue to eat away at my tooth - even if he covered it up so I could not see it anymore it would continue to grow and eventually destroy my tooth. They were doing things to my teeth and using instruments in my mouth that I had never experienced before. My former dentist was "Old School" - drill and fill. Dr. Patterson was using metal bands, ultraviolet lights, liquids, pastes and who knows what else he put in there. Again my mind started wandering off thinking what do we have at our disposal to battle our spiritual cavities. God has given us His Word, He has given us the Holy Spirit, He has given us fellow believers to hold us accountable and He has given us prayer. I hope that if there is a sin issue in our life we will not allow it to go unchecked, we will not ignore it. We have been given the tools to get rid of it.

I John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

I John 2:1  My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

James 5: 19, 20 - 19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.