When something just doesn't belong.

Last week I hopefully started the healing process after more than two years of pain and discomfort.  Many who know me know that I have had long term issues with my right knee.  There always seems to be pain, or locking or swelling and though for periods it settles down it has never quite gone away.  Recently, one night after youth group, it really flared up and has been so painful that I finally had an MRI and went and saw a specialist.

It was tad confusing because nothing really showed up on the MRI (no ligament or large cartilage damage) so the special wanted to do an exploratory arthroscope to get a camera inside my knee and have a look.  That's what happened last Monday.

I had a follow up appointment with the specialist yesterday and he showed me all the video he took inside my knee (very cool).  All the ligaments were good, all the cartilage was healthy and undamaged.  But a part of the cushioning cartilage from behind my knee cap was missing. The doc showed me the video and explained that it had probably been knocked away in an impact injury, but was in a space that shouldn't cause any problems.

However he then showed me the next video... you could see those pieces of cartilage that had broken away floating around in my knee.  Apparently these three 1cm square pieces of flesh have been what have been causing most of my pain for the last few years... they float around and maybe get caught where they'll cause the knee to lock, or they'll catch on my ACL and inflame it causing pain - or my body starts producing fluid in the knee to flush them out so it swells.  They wouldn't show up on an MRI, but because they just didn't belong they were the cause of all the trouble. On the video I then watched as a little claw tool grabbed each piece and pulled them out of my knee.

I had lots of time last week to sit and think, and it's funny, I had been reflecting on something similar in our lives... sin.  Just like those squares in my knee didn't belong, and because they were there they produced constant suffering, sin in the world causes the entire universe in which we live to suffer.  Sin lingers, it inflames, it breaks down, it causes pain.

How good is it then that we know through the Gospel that one day all sin is going to be plucked away as simply as the doctor removed that cartilage from my knee. In fact as Christians that has in part been done for us, we are saved from sin - even if we still experience it's effects.  I am still experiencing the pain of having little probes pushed into my knee, and it will take time to heal and get over the impact of surgery, but when it does it should be good as new.  Jesus has saved us from our sin, but while we are still in this world we experience the pain of living in a sinful place... one day though it will all be good as new.

Thank you Jesus!