What can YOU do to demonstrate God's love for all people, including those with disabilities?
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I thought I had something to write today, with several topics in mind. But as I sat to write, I read something else that I'd rather call your attention to. It's part of a talk John Knight gave recently about disability and the sanctity of life, with this segment offering suggestions for what we each can do to affirm God's sovereignty in disability:
To read the rest of John Knight's talk about disability and the sanctity of life or to watch the video of it, please go to his blog. And, when you do so, bookmark it, because God is doing amazing things in John's family and church and you'll want to keep reading his blog to hear/read more.You don’t need to be an expert in disability. In fact, sometimes that is an advantage. You can do informal things. If the Kanowitz family had not adopted us and loved us and persisted in love for us almost 16 years ago, I would not be standing here. They didn’t know anything about Paul’s disability, but they knew how to love. Trust God to help you, even if the person does what I did, and that was respond with bitterness and derision. They persisted because they trusted God more than they feared me, even when nothing changed in our hearts or lives for a long time. If God can change my heart, he can change anybody’s heart!You can speak up when the hard issues are discussed. The abortion movement assumes one of its best arguments for abortion is that it must be legal, especially late-term abortions, because nobody wants the disabled babies. Don’t let that lie just sit out there – move into it, get underneath it, love the mother and father, save the baby. Get the mom into Hope Keepers here at Bethlehem, a group Caryn Turner organizes of mothers and spouses experiencing disability in their loved ones.You can do simple, one-time things. When Dianne was so sick from treatment for her cancer, we received meals three times a week (coordinated by two wonderful ladies who selflessly served us for nine months). Some of those meals came from very young people – and I was encouraged that they had the courage to come to the door of a home that, potentially, could be so sad, so angry. That cup of cold water will never be forgotten by God himself!Some of you will be called into even longer term service. We have families at Bethlehem who have intentionally adopted lots and lots of children with disabilities – talk about leaning into the promises of God. And we have families who have unintentionally adopted children with disabilities, and they are pursuing, in love, the good of the children God has given them, even with this heart-breaking surprise.Everyone, put a stop to the cruel words like retard and spaz, first from your own mouths if necessary. I know it is possible for children to stand up to that cruelty, because I’ve seen my own children do so without any prompting from me.If you live with a disability and have gifts that are not being used, please pray about using them here!Please don’t misunderstand – there is joy, and the sorrow and the suffering is very real. I have cried more than I thought a man could cry these last 16 years. I am not saying there is a straight line between serving families like ours and a light, breezy happiness. But I am saying there is an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison coming (2 Corinthians 4:17). And I take comfort that even the tears are valuable to God.Psalm 56:8: You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?God is sovereign. Jesus is Lord. Your sins are forgiven. Joy is coming.