The Works of God

I was emailing a dear friend and offered him a copy of Greg Lucas’ book, Wrestling with an Angel, if he hadn’t seen it yet.  Here was his reply:

Also, I would gladly receive the grace of a Greg Lucas book.  I am not sure that (my wife) will part with her copy.  🙂

Actually, her copy is too pen-marked and tear-stained to share with me anyhow……

As Christmas approaches, both Just the Way I Am and Wrestling with an Angel can be bought in bulk for significant discounts.  We’re always finding somebody who hasn’t seen one or both of these books yet!  And most people, especially those in our situations, seem genuinely touched when receiving these books!

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Krista Horning, on behalf of the Horning family, wrote me earlier this week with a strong recommendation for Joni Eareckson Tada’s newest book, A Place of Healing. She included this long quotation from the book:

Sometimes when the day (or night!) seems long, and life in the wheelchair seems like a heavy weight to bear, I remind myself that my Lord Jesus Himself was handicapped.

Does that concept startle you just a little?

You know me:  I’m always looking to see what God’s Word has to say about physical limitations.  And when you study the life of Jesus, you have to stop and consider that although our Savior did not have a physical disability per se, He did handicap Himself when He came to earth.

Boy, did He ever.

How can I say that for sure?  Well, the dictionary defines “handicap” as any difficulty that is imposed on a superior person so as to hamper or disadvantage him, making that person more equal with others.

Certainly, if we use that definition, then Jesus was handicapped.

Think of it!

On one hand, the fullness of God dwelt in Christ, yet on the other hand He “made Himself nothing”.  He emptied Himself, taking the very nature of a servant.  Talk about handicaps!  Can you imagine a greater one?  To be God on one hand, and yet to make Himself nothing!  That is one severe limitation which, you would think, would have hampered our Lord or put Him at a disadvantage.

Jesus, the Master Architect of the entire universe, designed suns and stars, galaxies and planets.  When he handicapped Himself, He made Himself a carpenter on earth, limiting Himself to designing common wooden chairs, stools, tables, and yokes for necks of oxen.

Jesus was also the one who spoke the Word, creating everything around us.  But this same Jesus who spoke time and space into being handicapped Himself on earth, choosing instead to speak to prostitutes, lepers, and sinners.

Jesus, the one who since Satan’s fall had despised pain and suffering as one of the awful results of man’s sin, handicapped Himself on earth when His back ached and His muscles cramped and when He sweat real sweat and cried real tears and bled real blood.

When I think of all this, it strikes me that these limitations didn’t just “happen” to Jesus in the same way that circumstances “happen”  to you and me.  The amazing thing is that Christ chose to be handicapped.  I can’t think of too many people who would chose to be disabled.  Believe me, I know I wouldn’t!  There is nothing easy, nothing fun, nothing casual about living with a disability.  From the very get-go, it’s hard.

But Jesus chose to handicap Himself so that you and I might share eternity with Him in bodies that will never stoop, limp, falter, or fail.  Jesus chose to experience pain and suffering beyond our imagination in order that you and I would one day walk the streets of Heaven whole, happy, and pain free.  Jesus chose to die-though that was a daunting task in itself.  As C.S. Lewis wrote, Jesus “was so full of life that when he wished to die He had to ‘borrow death from others.’”

But borrow it He did, taking it unto Himself, yielding up His life, so that you and I might pass through death’s shadow and live forever.  Yes, while I’m alive here on earth, I am called to endure a handicap.  But how could I be other than grateful and content?  I’m in the best company of all.

Joni Eareckson Tada, A Place of Healing, 204-205.

I wrote to the Hornings and asked why this quote was so special to them.  Bob replied on behalf of the family:

The thing that was striking in these paragraphs was one of those little additions to our way of thinking that made a world of difference.

We’ve always known that Jesus had to give up much.  He had to empty himself to come here to live and die.  It’s one of those things that we “know,” but perhaps it’s so incomprehensible that we just gloss over it or take it for granted, even if that is unintentional.  We don’t know it as well as we think we do.

But when Joni says that Jesus emptying of himself was like becoming disabled, it made us sit up and take notice.  That’s something we can relate to.  We know the difficulty.  We know all the things we’ve had to give up or let go of.  We know the rejection and loneliness.  So now we can grasp just a tiny bit of what Jesus went through.  And it is just a tiny bit because we know his was an infinitely greater loss than anything we ever experienced.

And the good news is that he did it so that he could solve a problem for us (our sin) that we had absolutely no ability to solve on our own.  Despite his “disability” he was still far beyond anything we could imagine.  And he still is.  What a great God!

Amen, Bob!

Thank you, Horning family, for this book recommendation (which is in my stack) and for helping me see the greatness of Jesus in a fresh way.  Yes, what a great God!

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I know I have emphasized how Greg’s book, Wrestling with an Angel, is a really good book for men – and not just dads of children with disabilities.

Turns out, women are encouraged by it, too!

Dianne pointed to this as a deep encouragement to her:

I do not believe Jake has a guardian angel assigned to protect him from harm.  I believe he has a Father who sits on His throne in heaven surrounded by an army of angels who intently watch the face of the Commander.  With one nod of the Almighty’s head, a legion of angels can be dispatched with unimaginable speed to preserve and protect.  Night and day they wait, watching the Father’s face as his eyes watch over my son.  I believe it is God who watches, not any created being. And it is God who supplies whatever help is needed.

Jake’s care is not delegated. (Lucas, p. 73)

Amen, my friend.

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Because Greg knows what disability does to a family.  And he clearly sees God’s remarkable, sovereign grace:

I often wonder what it would be like to be a normal dad, of a normal family, with a normal son. I sometimes imagine sitting through an entire church service or ball game or date with my wife without having to answer an urgent alarm activated by Jake.  I would probably have more friends, more time, and more worldly accomplishments.  I would definitely have more pride.

In return, there would be less opportunity to recognize the amazing grace that God displays each and every day through the disability of my son.  It is this grace that humiliates pride, humbles my soul, deepens my shallowness and allows me to see what is most important in life.  From Wresting with an Angel, pp. 40-41

I learned from Greg and his publisher that it is better to purchase books directly from Cruciform Press than through other vendors like Amazon.  It is also cheaper!

And for those outside of the United States, there is a PDF version available for sale, though you may want to contact the publisher before attempting to purchase.

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The disability community has a great friend in Justin Taylor.  Many years ago he gave lectures at Bethlehem on the case against abortion, which opened my eyes to new ways to engage that issue.  I love how he thinks, and how he has helped me think, about any number of issues.

I highly recommend his blog in general, and specifically today he brings to the world two books I also highly recommend.

Thank you, Justin! May God open many, many more eyes to what he is doing on this issue of disability!

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Note: some of you may have already seen it when I accidentally posted on Sunday.  I have a little more info than I did before!

I have recommended Greg Lucas’ blog,  Wrestling with an Angel, many times.  Greg is the real deal, having gone through much hardship in his family while clinging to the promises of God.  He loves the Word.

And soon his book, Wrestling with an Angel, will be available!

I was grateful to be included as a reader of an early draft, and was glad to provide this endorsement:

It is the rare book that makes much of God and our dependency on Him while also celebrating His goodness through hard things. Using his own example of parenting a child with significant disabilities, Greg demonstrates what relying on a sovereign God through extreme difficulty and suffering looks like. This book is a gift to the church, and particularly to men who need an example of masculine, Biblical leadership in the face of complex, confusing, and overwhelming circumstances. If you have ever confronted hardship and questioned God’s goodness, this book provides a real-life example of trusting in the promises of God.

Noel Piper, Justin Taylor and Justin Reimer have also recommended it.  You can read their endorsements on Cruciform Press’ facebook page (note: you might need to be logged in to Facebook for this link to work).

Lord willing, advance copies will be available for purchase at the Desiring God National Conference!  I understand it will be available on the Cruciform Press website around November 1.  Watch here for more details on how and where to purchase.

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Emily Colson, daughter of Chuck Colson and mother to Max, has added to the growing number of parents who are sharing their stories of raising a child with significant disabilities.  She brings a welcome Christian orientation to her book.

Max lives with autism and Emily Colson does not hold back in her writing about it.  We are introduced to the deep challenges his disabilities create in both their lives, the kind of challenges other parents will immediately recognize.  Her writing is clean and clear and frequently beautiful.

There is a great deal that churches can learn from her story.  Her friend, ‘Peppermint Patty,’ exemplifies some of the best of Christian community – immediately welcoming Emily and Max into her life, encouraging Emily to connect with other women for prayer and Bible study, and going with Emily to important meetings with doctors and other specialists.  We have been blessed to have such people in our lives; her descriptions of various people frequently reminded me of people from Bethlehem.

Unfortunately, the video for this book, created by Zondervan, does not even begin to demonstrate the challenges associated with his disability and I believe does a disservice to the book.

And while there is much to commend, I find I can only cautiously recommend it:

• She frequently talks about the Bible, but infrequently actually quotes it.  There were many natural opportunities to do so.  Her story is certainly inspirational, but it is the Word that is both foundational and transformational.
• There were some head-scratching moments when I wasn’t sure what conclusion I was supposed to take away.  For example, there’s a heartwarming story about a visit to a Catholic church, and the impact that Max had on several people during his visit.  Though it is a delightful experience, there is no acknowledgment on the author’s part that Catholics and Evangelicals differ on some important aspects about God and his word.  I don’t by any means suggest she isn’t serious about her faith; she most certainly is.  But a non-Christian might conclude there really isn’t all that much difference between the two.

Finally, as a man, I wasn’t put off by how feminine this book is, but it did make me long for a more masculine voice on this subject.

Fortunately, that voice is coming very soon!  Watch the blog for more details.

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