clubfoot & the gospel

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Our sweet Gary has a clubfoot - a growth issue with his foot where it points inward due to tightness of the achilles tendon and a slower growth rate of certain parts of his leg and foot. Thankfully, its treatable, and we're blessed to have the medical professionals in our area of the world who are able to treat it skillfully. We praise God that he should have full recovery and functionality in his foot, but are humbled by the fact that without treatment it would turn into a lifelong disability, with pain and difficulty walking. It seems like a lot of appointments and work in the present, but it will be worth all of it when he's able to walk without pain! 

Gary's clubfoot tells us the story of the gospel:

In life, we all have a growth issue: our lives point inward. We are self-focused and sinful. Sin, without treatment, also turns into a lifelong (you could go further and say eternal) disability. It might not feel painful in the stages of infancy (much like a clubfoot), but "untreated," sin will only get more of a grasp on our lives, causing us pain and difficulty in walking the road God has prepared for us. 

It has to be corrected. Sin, and the clubfoot. It causes no apparent problems or pain yet, but if Gary started walking on it, it would be excruciating.  As he grows, it would only become worse if we did nothing about it. And so, we do something about it!

We stretch it. We mold it with a cast. We brace it, even once it's corrected, to ensure the growth issue doesn't return. 

To get rid of sin, we ask Jesus, who lived a perfect life, to forgive us. His perfection replaces our sinfulness in the court of God - a crazy gift. Our lives are then stretched. Molded by the word of God. And in essence, "braced," even once "corrected," to keep ourselves in the love of Christ. 

So, fellow Christians, put on your "casts" today and be molded by the Word of God so that sin doesn't take hold of your life, even if it only seems like a minor issue in the present moment. 

It'll be worth the inconvenience of today to have freedom in the future!



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#clubfootandthegospel

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