I read a New York Times article recently which cited scientists who have scientifically proven that, contrary to previous popular opinion, bones do not heal stronger than they were before. Rather, they do heal stronger, but only for a short period of time, before ultimately returning to the original equilibrium state. There’s a whole bunch of gobbledygook about calcium deposits and bone density, but that’s the gist of it.
Initially, this news is somewhat disheartening. I don’t claim to be an expert in anatomy or one who gets a kick out of studying femurs, but there was something poetic about the metaphor of it all. As it was, bones healing stronger exemplified what we call the “American Spirit,” the notion that we endure hardship, and by enduring such hardship we emerge better, stronger, wiser, etc. It’s a wonderful notion, but now that it has been debunked we’re forced to examine a new analogy for the now-proven science behind bone healing.
My mind began to wander to our daily lives as Christians. In a sinless perfect world, there would be no “breaking,” and thus no need to heal. Accordingly, it stands to reason that sin is the great cause for our struggles in life. Unlike our bones, sin causes us to break at a daily, if not hourly or minutely pace. Thankfully, blessedly, we can call upon the great Healer to patch us up and send us on our way. God’s like that magic spray they use at soccer matches; we don’t know why or how, but it fixes everything.
Let’s tie this all up. It stands to reason that God wouldn’t create a situation where we healed stronger than before a break, because to do so would be to encourage the act of breaking. Last time I checked, God doesn’t think too highly of sin, so in His mind he’d rather us just not break what he spent so much time creating. Instead, He devised a protocol where, through healing, we’re returned right back where we were before the whole thing got out of kilter. It’s genius, and I’ll explain why.
You, in your present condition, are exactly as God would have you to serve out His divine plan. He doesn’t need you any stronger, any wiser, any prettier than you are right now. However, we spend a great deal of time breaking what God has carefully crafted. What does God do? He heals us, then puts us back just as He intended. There are so many times in our lives when we think we’ve done something so catastrophic that surely we’ve interrupted God’s plan for our lives. The next time this happens, just sit back and watch the healing process begin. He’ll get you back where you belong.
Jeremiah 30:17 – “But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD…”
