For the joy set before Him: what braces taught me about the Incarnation

So I recently got my braces done. Pink, naturally.

And the first three days were agonising. Not physical pain — just sheer frustration. Suddenly I can’t eat more than half of what I used to. And the little I can eat? I’m picking at it in teeny tiny bits, like a baby.

It took me an hour and a half to get through 3/4s of a hot buttered garlic roll.

Ridiculous.

But in that frustration, I couldn’t help but think of Jesus. Fully God. Fully man.

John tells us in John 1:14:

“And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).” ‭‭John‬ ‭1:14‬ ‭AMP‬‬[actually]

He didn’t arrive on earth as a fully formed adult the way we assume Adam did. He started the way we all do — as a foetus. Then a baby who probably had to cry and crawl like everyone else. If He hadn’t, it would’ve freaked Mary and Joseph out.

He grew. He learned. He felt. We see Him weep for Lazarus even though He knew He’d raise him moments later, to the glory of God.

All this to say: Jesus endured the limitations of a human body for the same reason I’m enduring braces — the end goal.

Mine is a perfect smile. His was salvation for all.

The author of Hebrews puts it this way:

“[Looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith… who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God…” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭AMP‬‬

My struggle is a micro version at best. A 0.001% shadow. I’m frustrated by garlic rolls. He chose to be contained in flesh and time and gravity, knowing He was the One who spoke galaxies into being. He chose to be in one geographic location at a time, though He knew exactly what was happening everywhere else.

Jesus is God. That’s the central theme of the book of John.

So I’ll chew slow. And while I wait for straight teeth, I’ll try to remember: He chose the ultimate limitation, so my freedom wouldn’t be temporary like a perfect smile, but eternal.

May He be the central theme of our hearts, minds, and lives.

Amen.