The Isolation of Disability and the Providence of God
This sponsored post was provided by Guidelight, a ministry designed to shine a light for the world to see Jesus and the works of God in the lives of families and individuals experiencing disability. It was written by Greg Lucas, author of Wrestling with Angel, Bible teacher, and advisor for Guidelight.
“As Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” (John 9:1-2)
One of the darkest and most difficult parts of being a special needs family is personal, cultural, and even spiritual isolation. For the person or family affected by disability it is much easier to stay hidden in obscurity than to be judged by the watching world. Isolation not only provides protection from the silent stares of spectators and onlookers, it keeps the messes, smells, and noises in-house where they are easier to deal with, and don’t have to be shared. For those struggling with disabilities, sometimes it is safer to remain unseen.
But Jesus will not leave us alone. He will not allow his people to be isolated. He will not permit his Church to pick and choose who is best suited—in body, mind, speech, and ability—for the Kingdom of God. He will not leave us blind to the works of God. It is of eternal importance, not only that we see, but that we are seen.
In John chapter 9 we are introduced to a man who was born blind. He was “blind from birth”, so blindness is all he has known. And being blind is all he is known for. Up to this point, he has lived his entire life isolated, marginalized, and judged for his disability. But in the providence of God, Jesus passes by, and in the blink of an eye, everything is changed.
“As Jesus passed by, he saw a man…”. And this seeing changes everything.
Jesus not only saw the man who could not see, he saw the man no one else took the time to see. The man was blind to the world and the world was blind to him. This man had no identity except for disability. He is given no name except that of the “blind beggar”. People looked through him, much like we look through modern day beggars today. Much like we often look through people with special needs today.
When faced with disability, it’s easier to keep moving, to look away, to be blind to the awkward interactions. But Jesus didn’t turn away.
When faced with disability, it’s easier to keep moving, to look away, to be blind to the awkward interactions. But Jesus didn’t turn away. Jesus stopped, and “…he saw a man”. He looked past the disability and saw the humanity. He looked past the problem and saw the person.
The disciples also saw a man, but they only saw his limitations. They saw his inability. In dramatic irony, they could only see his blindness. They looked past the humanity to try to find a reason for the disability. And with careless words from calloused hearts, they made a judgment of the man. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Their far sited theology blurred the Imago Dei that stood right before their eyes.
And like he does for all who dwell in darkness, the Light of the World focuses their vision and illuminates their hearts. “Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.’”
Jesus sees something no one else can see. And he wants his followers to see it too. He wants the hurting world to see that there is purpose in the pain. He wants his Church to see that fearfully and wonderfully made is a promise to every image-bearer of God. He wants the Body of Christto see that isolation is like amputation, andthe parts of the body that seem weaker are actually indispensable. He wants every parent of every child with every form of disability to see his power and love—that the God who made man’s mouth, also in his providence, makes him mute or deaf or seeing or blind, in order that that the works of God might be displayed.
The meaning of Jesus in John 9 is crystal clear. He is saying to the disciples, and he is saying to the blind man, and he is certainly saying to his Church: This blindness, this autism, this cerebral palsy, this down syndrome, this fill in the blank—this disability, exists so that more and more of the greatness of God can be seen.
Perhaps this story isn’t about the blind man at all. Perhaps this story is about our own blindness to see what God is doing all around us. And maybe the greatest gift he can give us is not to heal our physical disabilities. Maybe the greatest gift he can give us is to heal our own spiritual blindness so we can see more of Jesus, and more of the great works of God.
Guidelight is a ministry designed with that purpose in mind—to shine a light for the world to see Jesus, and the works of God in the lives of families and individuals experiencing disability. One of our most important ministry missions is to lead families out of the darkness of isolation and into the body of Christ. Through bible teaching, respite, counseling, and care, Guidelight encourages families with the hope of the gospel and the purpose of God in disability “in order that the works of God might be displayed.”
Won’t you join us in carrying this light to the world? Visit theguidelight.org to learn more.
-
A La Carte (October 30)
Good morning. Grace and peace to you.
Today’s Kindle deals include as massive list from Zondervan. Don’t miss it!
(Yesterday on the blog: The Secret of a Blessed, Useful Life)
What Do Israel’s Food Laws Have to Do with Our Holiness?
“When we get to Leviticus in our Bible reading plans, how many of us read every word of chapter 11? It’s not most people’s idea of engaging literature. The Lord provides a long list of which animals were ritually pure and which were ritually impure. The pure ones could be eaten; the impure ones couldn’t. If we do make it through the list, one of the first questions we ask is ‘Why? What makes an animal pure or impure?’ Interpreters have ventured various guesses.”
Avoiding Quick Repairs in Counseling
This article encourages Christian counselors to resist the temptation toward quick repairs.
Is creation worth fighting about?
“In the creation vs. theistic evolution debate, there are a lot of Christians who aren’t prepared to pick a side. They aren’t loyal to 6 days or billions of years, perhaps believing they need a theology or science degree to be qualified to take a stand. They don’t want to be forced to pick one team over the other. However, when the question is ‘Does this matter?’ then not picking a side is still picking a side. Refusing to choose is only legitimate if this is no big thing. So is it really no big thing… or is it huge?”
50+ Free Teaching Series in the Ligonier App
The Ligonier Ministries app lets you carry a theological library wherever you go. More than 50 teaching series are available to stream for free. And for a limited time, app users can freely stream Jason Helopoulos’ new series, Created for Worship. If you haven’t already, make sure you update the app to unlock helpful new features. Now you can search Ligonier’s deep library to find biblical teaching even more easily. (Sponsored Link)
A Letter to the Anxious Christian
Blake has a letter to the anxious Christian. That probably describes all of us from time to time…
Does Jesus tell us we “can’t get no satisfaction”?
John Beeson: “Sexual sin begins with our heart and moves to our imagination and only then to our actions. There was never a person in the history of the world who committed sexual sin who didn’t initiate that sin in his heart and then his imagination.”
What Does Using ChatGPT Look Like for Christians?
Writing for TGC India, Akshay Rajkumar writes about ChatGPT. “Yesterday’s science fiction is today’s reality. Such power is too wonderful for us, too lofty for us to contain. What are we to make of it? What does wisdom look like in a world of increasing artificial intelligence? How should Christians think about using ChatGPT?”
Flashback: Why Are You Friends with Your Friends?
When there is benefit to be gained by our associations we gladly proclaim people our friends. But when that association threatens to bring us shame, we quickly deny them. Why?The very easiest way to give resurrection to old corruptions is to erect a trophy over their graves; they will at once lift up their heads and howl out, “We are alive still.” —C.H. Spurgeon
-
A La Carte (July 25)
Grace and peace to you today.
Today’s Kindle deals include books by John Piper, Kevin DeYoung, and Wayne Grudem.
(Yesterday on the blog: I Shall Be Satisfied Then)
Let’s Talk About Bodies
This article speaks to an issue that confuses many people. “It can feel confusing to know how God wants us to think about our bodies. What is too much? What is too little? Are bodies spiritual or are bodies unspiritual?”
How “Above Reproach” Lay Elders Saved My Ministry
“A special elders’ meeting was called. This time, I, as the senior pastor, was the subject of concern.” Gary Kirst tells how godly elders may have saved his ministry.
Evading The Comparison Trap Among Servants
“As we serve the Lord within our local communities, we’ve experienced a time or two when we’d rather be someone else and possess their giftings or abilities: We’ve felt frustrated, discouraged, and envious. While we know and believe God has created each of us with our own set of talents, strengths, and passions, as an integral part of His body, why do we so easily linger on the service of others?”
My Hundred Homes
What does it mean when Jesus says “there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time…?”
Unction and Preaching
“Unction is a topic not often discussed in books on preaching and even less often in Reformed books.” I’m not sure that I agree with Wes Bredenhof’s take on unction, but I was glad to read it nonetheless.
FAQ: Is it Okay to Question the Bible?
Is it okay to question the Bible? It all depends on what you mean by the question.
Flashback: A Practical Guide to Culture
We speak of culture’s dangerous encroachment on the church, of our need to avoid it, engage it, or redeem it. But what is this culture thing anyway?You’ve been tasked with sounding the call, not raising the dead. That’s God’s job. —Will Dobbie
-
20 Years of Daily Blogging and Other Miscellania
It was twenty years ago this week that I made the decision to try to post something to my blog every day for a year. At that time the site was suffering from a lack of attention. I would write occasional articles and often get positive feedback on them, but I lacked any real commitment and dedication. The time between posting articles had stretched from days to weeks, so I decided I’d give it one more shot by making the commitment to post something new every day for a year. If I failed, I’d just give up and find a new hobby.
But it worked. From November 1, 2003 to October 31, 2004 I posted something every day. At the end of the year I decided I enjoyed holding myself to that kind of discipline so renewed the commitment. And somewhere along the way, it became a habit that stuck—and a habit that has remained two decades later. Tomorrow I’ll round out twenty years of daily blogging.
That’s not to say that I have always posted something of the highest quality—though I do try to ensure it is always worth reading and that it will benefit people in some way. And that’s certainly not to say I write every day or am even involved in posting it every day—there are people and automation tools that can do that for me when I am on vacation or taking a weekly day of rest. But it is to say that I’ve maintained the habit and enjoyed doing so.
So as I hit that 20-year mark, I want to express my gratitude to you, the readers. None of this would be possible if you didn’t commit to reading it. The fact that you continue to read this site is a blessing and encouragement to me. I’d say “Here’s to another 20 years” but I kind of doubt I’ll maintain the habit that long.
❖
And now, turning to a completely different subject, I thought I’d share a few thoughts and articles that may be of interest to you. While I link to several good pieces of writing each day in my A La Carte column, I focus almost exclusively on Christian material. Sometimes, though, I read other material and feel like commenting on it. That’s some of what you will find below—interesting articles from mainstream sources that are accompanied by some brief commentary.
❖
Happy birthday to Abby who turns 21 today!
❖
The Verge has an article that makes me chuckle: Apple’s new video reactions are making therapy incredibly awkward. If you have upgraded to the most recent versions of Apple’s operating systems, you may have noticed that they now include “video reactions.” When using FaceTime or another video app, you can use gestures to trigger certain reactions in your conversations. Some of these gestures are relatively common like a thumbs up or a thumbs down, but they can trigger uncommon on-screen reactions like a heart emoji or a fireworks display.
With that in mind, “SimplePractice, a company that offers a telehealth platform, is warning patients about Apple’s new video reactions feature that might let people unintentionally add heart emoji or virtual fireworks during a telehealth video call. Awkward.” Awkward indeed! The warning extends to other uses of video such as business meetings or litigation—times when an unexpected heart emoji or laser show may slightly disrupt what was otherwise a very serious conversation. Thankfully, it is possible to disable the feature—something you may wish to consider. And thankfully this feature came along well after that strange stretch of time during the pandemic when we seemed to be on video calls all day and every day.
❖
I was recently pondering the parable of the Good Samaritan and wondering this: if Jesus were to speak the parable today, who would play the role of the Samaritan in our modern Western context? If Jesus was attempting to challenge the kind of pious religious folk who are convinced of their own spiritual superiority, who would be the person who so revolts them that they would be infuriated to learn he was actually the one who had behaved righteously—the one who represented the sharpest cultural division of that day?
I was thinking the other day of the Modern Parable films that were released about 12 years ago. They provided a modern adaptation of the parable and, as I recall, the Samaritan was played by a devout Muslim. But that was not too long after 9/11 and what might have resonated in that day probably wouldn’t today. I know there is a lot of historical context that divided first-century Jews from Samaritans, but I’d be interested in knowing your thoughts on the closest comparison in our day. Who is our modern Samaritan? (Facebook is probably the best place to leave a comment since I removed the commenting function on my blog a very long time ago.)
❖
“Something feels a bit off with Airbnb these days.” The Atlantic recently wrote about Airbnb and the way it has changed over the years. I remember the early years when every home or cottage we rented made us feel like we had been invited in as the guest of the homeowner. They would often be there to greet us and would leave a little welcome gift behind. There was something charming about it. But that was then and this is now. Today’s Airbnbs are often owned or at least managed by professional companies who want the experience to be very professional, bland, and sterile.
The author says, “You risk ending up, like I did in Vermont, in one of multiple cookie-cutter units listed by the same host, units that lean less ‘cozy ski lodge’ and more ‘IKEA display room that has never known human touch.’” And that’s exactly it. We recently rented one that had four chairs around the table and in the cupboards were four plain white IKEA mugs, four plain white IKEA plates, and four plain white IKEA bowls. Nearby were exactly 4 IKEA knives, forks, and spoons. The walls were stark and bare and there was no more furniture than absolutely necessary. It was a home devoid of warmth, character, or anything beyond the absolute necessities. I guess that’s fine as far as it goes, but I still find myself looking for listings that have a bit more of the older feel.
❖
Fast Company wrote about the note-taking app Obsidian. Whether it’s Obsidian, Roam Research (which I prefer), or one of several imitators, this new generation of note-taking apps offers features and power that previous generations did not. Their purpose is not just to help you write notes, but to help you figure out how to create ideas and bring meaning from those notes. So if Evernote or even your computer’s built-in notes app is meant to simply record information, these apps are meant to record information and then help you do something with it. I have found them invaluable and would say that if your work is in the realm of ideas, you may find they really benefit you as well. I continue to use Roam (as I’ve outlined here), though if I was starting over I’d definitely consider Obsidian as well.
