The Works of God

Disability references are found everywhere in the Bible – more than 350 verses in 40 of the 66 books contain some reference to disability, disease or skin condition.  It is suggested at times that certain references to disability are metaphors for something else.  For example, Paul writes this to the Corinthians:

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4

“Blinded the minds” is obviously pointing to something other than a lack of physical sight.  Yet we should be stunned at how devastating this type of blindness is!  Paul is not just playing with words to get people’s attention, he is talking about a literal blindness far more devastating than not being able to see in this physical world.

Pastor John writes about how stunning this type of  blindness really is:

We are talking about glory—radiance, effulgence, brightness. Glory is the outshining of whatever is glorious. The glory of God is the beautiful brightness of God. There is no greater brightness. Nothing in the universe, nor in the imagination of any man or angel, is brighter than the brightness of God. This makes the blindness of 2 Corinthians 4:4 shocking in its effect. Calvin says it with the kind of amazement it deserves: “They do not see the midday sun.” That is how plain the glory of God is in the gospel. When God declares the omnipotent word of creation and “[shines] in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,” the curtains are pulled back in the window of our Alpine chalet, and the morning sun, reflected off the Alps of Christ, fills the room with glory. From God Is the Gospel, p. 74

To have the type of blindness Paul refers to in 2 Corinthians 4:4 is infinitely worse than having natural eyes that don’t work.  But if you see the glory of Christ, you have been given the best kind of sight of all – regardless of whether your eyes work or not.  And if you have perfect sight, but don’t understand Jesus in this way, then seek him more than you have sought anything ever in your life.  Your eternity is at stake.

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In the journal Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy, researchers Susana Aguilera, Peter Soothill, Mark Denbow, and Ian Pople found that 72% of the women in their study chose to abort their children with spina bifida upon diagnosis.

The Mayo Clinic describes the consequences of spina bifida this way:

Fortunately, with the proper medical care, children with spina bifida can lead active and productive lives. Most are successful in school and many are actively involved in modified sports activities despite their physical challenges. Twenty-year follow-up studies of children with spina bifida show they enter college in the same proportion as the general population, and many are actively employed. With recent advancements in care for these children, their prognosis continues to improve.

Joe Eaton, the young man who wrote the very helpful statement about God’s sovereignty over suffering that was posted on Saturday, was born with spina bifida.

Parents, please, let those babies live.

My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:15-16

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I have read dozens of books, articles and web sites on disability, suffering and the Bible.  What you will see below may be the finest piece on disability and the sovereignty of God I have ever read.

It was written by Joe Eaton and is particularly powerful because Joe lives with the permanently disabling condition of spina bifida.  Please join me in praising God for the insight and wisdom God has granted Joe, who is just completing his first semester of college.

The Sovereignty of God in Suffering, by Joe Eaton (first posted on Facebook and used with his permission here)

A friend and I were talking a while ago about the sovereignty of God. She asked me how I thought the sovereignty of God related to disability. More specifically, how does believing the doctrine of the sovereignty of God affect my own experience with disability? At the time, my thoughts on the subject I weren’t very well-prepared or well-organized. But I have also been meaning to write some thoughts about this since I started this blog! So, finally, I’ve written some of my thoughts on this subject. I pray that these musings are Bible-saturated and helpful…

An understanding of the sovereignty of God has to start with an understanding of the glory of God. Romans 11:36 says, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.” In other words, every detail of life is orchestrated for the glory of God. When I say that God is sovereign, I mean that “For those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).” In other words, God has ordained that no matter what happens to those of us who are elect, Christ would get the glory and we would get the joy. When we talk about the sovereignty of God, we have to start there. To believe in the sovereignty of God is to trust Him, that His promises are true and that His purposes are good all the time, whether we understand what He’s doing or not, because He’s always working for His good and our joy. (more…)

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And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,

My apologies for the quality of the video.

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The news is not hopeful for that little boy who is severely disabled in the UK that I introduced you to yesterday.  Another doctor has determined that an operation would not be helpful in addressing all that is associated with his congenital myasthenic syndrome. There are now dozens of articles on google news if you would like to follow it.

There is so much at stake here, and so little is being directed at anything other than the ‘quality of life’ of that little boy.  Even the father has made that part of his argument, that the little boy will have some quality of life which gives that boy’s life purpose. I don’t think that will be enough; it isn’t a sufficient argument to make.

Some of the comments following the news articles about the mother and the father are horrifying.  I’m grateful for that boy’s father in how he is battling to save his son, but there is room for sympathy for the mother as well.

Even the most normal of babies will go through stretches – colic, fevers, sleepless nights – that deeply discourage parents.  The little boy in this case has been in the hospital since he was born 13 months ago.  For all of his life he has been hooked up to machines to help him breathe, to keep him alive.  Hospitals are horrible places for parents in these situations to keep perspective, to maintain healthy marriages, and to make good decisions under the intensity of the weight of all that is involved with doctors and insurance and just trying to consider the best interests of the child.

If those parents have been going it alone, it is no surprise they have separated and that they see the world differently for their son.  That doesn’t excuse or explain away anything, but it hopefully puts it into perspective.  That family needs a huge support system, the kind the church was created to provide:

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Romans 12:10-13

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. Romans 1:11-12

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:14-15

My family and I are the grateful recipients of such care from our church, as is reflected often in the ‘helpful things‘ series.  Let us pray for that boy and his parents and for the court system in the UK – and for the church to make much of God in how they treat that family.

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Continuing yesterday’s discussion of Dr. Paul Simmons’ use of scripture to justify his view that abortion is an acceptable moral choice, today we’ll look at how he deals with an important passage regarding God’s sovereignty over disability, Exodus 4:10-11:

But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”Then the Lord said to him (Moses), “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?

Here are Dr. Simmons own words on that passage, from his article, Personhood, the Bible and the Abortion Debate:

Using God’s statement to Moses to explain genetic deformity betrays careless exegesis leading to faulty conclusions. The context was Moses’ reluctance to become God’s spokesman because he feared he would not be persuasive. “Dumb,” “deaf,” and “blind” are metaphors for the ability to speak and understand God’s truth. This passage has nothing whatever to do with genetic handicaps.

Dr. Simmons is correct that Moses was reluctant.  But he is not correct that God is merely using a rhetorical device to make a point. (more…)

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I know this has not been a pleasant series of blogs.  But our children with disabilities are being slaughtered in frightening numbers through abortion and it must be addressed.  Women and men who otherwise would never consider abortion as an option in their pregnancies suddenly are unsure when disability has entered the question.

None of us who have children with disabilities will ever say it is easy – in fact, the burdens sometimes seem to multiply over time.  But our God, who is sovereign over all his creation in every moment of every day has promised, through the obedience, the death, and the resurrection of his own son Jesus Christ, to provide for all our needs.  All of them.  For his glory and for our good.

So theologians and pastors who preach a contrary message, who encourage the devastating sin of abortion in our land, must be called out.  What you are reading is largely a conversation I am having with myself, so that I can be prepared to address horrible arguments in support of abortion.  We have wolves among us. (more…)

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