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Have you ever had the dentist smile and say, “You’ve got great teeth—except for one small cavity.” If you’ve heard this statement, likely all you could think about was the cavity. That statement has a powerful message for how to approach the Christian life. Find out what it is in today’s message.

A cavity can be likened to sin. Even though the dentist said we have great teeth, we are prone to obsess over the cavity. Likewise, we often fixate on our sins. We allow one moral failure, one lapse in judgment, one hidden weakness to become the center of our spiritual identity. But let me ask you this: when God looks at you, do you think He sees only the cavity? Or does He see the whole tooth—and more?

Let’s be clear: sin matters. Like a cavity in a healthy tooth, sin eats away at the integrity of our soul. Left untreated, it can cause deep pain, infection, even death. That’s why Jesus came. He didn’t come to shame us for our cavities. He came to heal them. He came to restore the tooth, not to condemn it.

In Psalm 103:12, we read: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us.” God does not define us by our past sins. Yet we often define ourselves—and others—by their cavities. We stare at the rot. We ignore the root. We forget the grace.

Imagine this: your child smiles at you with a mouth full of pearly whites, but you focus only on one small brown spot. Wouldn’t that be strange? Yet that’s what many of us do in our spiritual lives. We forget the blessings. We forget the growth. We forget the grace. We keep licking that same spiritual sore, rehearsing the same guilt, dwelling on the same regret. The cavity consumes our vision.

But God wants to redirect our focus.

When we bring our sins to Him in honesty and humility, He forgives. And once the decay is removed, He invites us to get back to smiling again—not obsessing over what once was but rejoicing in what now is. A healed tooth is still a good tooth, fully capable of doing its job. And a forgiven heart is still a heart that can love, serve, and shine for His glory.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul shares what Jesus told him in a moment of weakness: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul didn’t let his spiritual cavities define him. Instead, he let God’s grace become the main story.

Too many Christians live a guilt-centered faith. We focus more on what we’ve done wrong than on what Christ has done right. We magnify our failures and minimize God’s mercy. But that’s not the Gospel. The Gospel is not “Look at how bad you are.” The Gospel is “Look at how good God is.”

So today, let’s ask ourselves: are we living cavity-centered lives? Or grace-centered ones? Are we stuck staring at the black spot, or are we marveling at the mercy that fills the rest of our lives?

Yes, examine your heart. Yes, repent when needed. But don’t camp out in guilt. Let God treat the cavity—and then walk in the freedom of a healed life. Smile again. Serve again. Love again.

Hebrews 10:17 says, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” If God has moved on, why haven’t we?

Let’s stop obsessing over the cavity. Let’s thank God for the tooth. Let’s praise Him for the grace that not only removes sin but restores what is good, true, and beautiful in us, as He originally designed.

The cavity is real. But the tooth is bigger.

And God is even bigger still!

Heavenly Father, I know that when I confess my sins and repent from my sinful ways you lavish your mercy, and forgiveness on me. Yet, I often fail to fully accept your mercy and I languish in the pain of my sin. You have told me that you no longer remember the sins I have confessed. Help me to let go of them too. Allow me to experience the peace of your mercy. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

AMDG 

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Brian Pusateri

Brian is a Christian author and speaker. Brian, a lifelong Catholic, felt his life was forever changed when God spoke to his heart while attending an eight day silent Christian retreat in November of 2011. Soon after that retreat Brian founded 4th Day Letters and Broken Door Ministries. With the God inspired message of mercy and unconditional love that was placed on his heart during that retreat, Brian has been impacting others all over the country and around the world with his weekly letters, his talks, and his all day Christian retreats. In June of 2014, Brian’s life was again impacted in a very dramatic way when his eyesight suddenly became permanently impaired. The initial diagnosis was Multiple Scleroses (MS) but in December of 2019 the diagnosis was corrected to MOG antibody disease, a rare neurological disease. This health challenge has only served to draw Brian closer to God and bolster the importance of this timely yet ageless message.

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