Tooth Decay

Teeth are some of the strongest parts of the human body, but they have a capacity to become influenced over time with bacteria and external influences that can undermine their function and effectiveness.

Whether you are spending time reading the side of your toothpaste tube or visiting your local dentist, you are likely to be given the standard drill of brush your teeth aftermeals, floss daily, and if you are the right age rinse with an anti-bacterial agent or decay preventative solution to reduce the effect of decay that can cause cavities.

Un-cared-for teeth can rot, decay, cause infection, heart disease, and a host of other less than pleasing results like bad breath or death depending upon how far you go in neglecting such a basic thing as oral health.

So what happens when you neglect the church, the body of Christ? I am specifically relating to the people who compose this divinely invented community. A church is defined as people of God gathered to fulfill God’s purposes in the world and sent out to influence that world in His name. There is a coming and going to that dynamic that is important. We gather to be equipped for service and we go out to serve.We gather to fellowship and find strength in the gifts of others that bless us and in turn invest our own gifts in the lives of others. We go out from the body to serve in the world as ambassadors for Christ to bring good news in Jesus name.

The failure to attend to spiritual health and to the body of Christ can, like teeth, result in rot, decay, and dis-ease that can yield a multitude of symptoms like poor communication, weak capacities, limited resources, and less than effective coming and going in Jesus’ name to learn, grow, and serve others.

So what’s the cure? Daily attention to spiritual health and regular check-ups with fellow believers who offer care and love and guidance in fellowship with the Lord who heals our diseases, who gives us insight and understanding, and who guides us to wholeness in Him --- in that context you find what you need and the spiritual health that comes with it.