Better Dead Than Disabled???

A one year old boy, who could have a tracheotomy, be taken home from the hospital and live his life, may have his ventilator removed at the wishes of his mother and the HOSPITAL TRUST PAYING FOR HIS CARE, because his severe physical disability has been deemed 'intolerable suffering'. His father disagrees and is fighting for his son's life.

See UK Court to Rule Whether Baby Better Off Dead Than Disabled from the blog Secondhand Smoke by Wesley J. Smith.

Reformation Day and Luke 14

In honor of Reformation Day, the anniversary of when, in 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Wittenberg University’s Castle Church door, boldly declaring where the Church needed reform, I'm writing my own thoughts about the Church and some places where we still need reformation. Of course, this post will lead to inclusion of people with disabilities, because, well, that seems to be what I do.

There are two religions in this world. One is based on works, the other on grace. The religion based on works requires its disciples to work through law, rite, or service to make that disciple in right standing with the god of this religion. The God of the second religion, that based on grace, demands perfection unto His Law; however, when man failed and fails, this God has given mankind His own righteousness through His Son, the Second Person in the Trinity that calls Itself God, a righteousness contingent only on faith in this Holy Son and His atoning work on the Cross.

The disciples of this second God- of this One True God- the adopted sons and heirs, join together according to the Word of this God, as one Body, and we call ourselves the Church, with Christ as our Head. Like the followers of the first religion, the Church has a law, the Law of God, though our Law has been fulfilled by this Christ, and we members of the Body now walk by faith in our Savior, Christ Jesus', work and in the Spirit, Who is the Third Person of this Triune God. We perform rituals in our church gatherings as does the first religion, though our rituals, rituals of baptism and the communion of the saints, focus not on our attempts to gain righteousness but rather on the One Who obtained righteousness for us. 

And, as do followers of the first religion, Christians, those of the Body, of the Church, we perform acts of service. As is the Law, Christians, attempt to love God and love our neighbors by serving our community and serve others. 

However, unlike those following the first religion, Christians are not attempting to earn our place in our God’s Kingdom through this service, though serving God and serving others is part of God’s Kingdom. In fact, daily lawbreakers, we could never serve enough to enter that Kingdom. 

Nor are we serving God through our own power or our own nature. We are serving God because we have a new nature, and a new Power- the Holy Spirit, given to us through the work of the Cross, upon our belief in Christ, this work, and the repentance of our sins. We are serving humanity- offering grace and mercy to one another- in response to how we were shown grace and mercy, in response to how we were invited into that Kingdom based solely on the death and resurrection of our King. We love because we have been loved.

Based upon this motivation for service and community within our own Body, we take seriously our Savior’s teachings on service and community. The fourteenth chapter of Luke’s gospel, verses 7 through 24, includes one such teaching. Through instruction and parable, Jesus shares His Father’s desire that, oh, may His house be full! He teaches us that His Father wants those at His table those who cannot repay His kindness- ‘the poor and the crippled and the blind and the lame' (vs 13) (as if people who are not poor or who do not have a disability could pay Him back). In fact, He says to compel them to come, revealing the earnestness of His heart toward the least in this world, those same ‘least’ who will become great in His Kingdom.

How does this teaching apply to Christ’s Church 2,000 years after its original exhortation? It applies the same way. There are still those who are ‘great’ in this world, and those who are poor or who have disabilities are still regarded as ‘the least’. Sadly the world’s view of who is great and who is the least is often paralleled in the Church.

Thankfully, the Spirit of God is working in the same way that He has for 2,000 years. He still convicts the Church, both the individual member and the entire of Body, of sin, and He is convicting me of my exclusionary practices of the ‘least of these’ in my church’s gatherings. 

So, what do inclusionary practices of the ‘least of these’ look like? Inclusionary practices begin by being reminded of how all inclusion to the Body begins. It begins with the Cross and how Christ, forgiving us of our sin, reconciles us with God, making us His child and a member of Christ’s Body. We must be reminded that God never needed our able bodies or cognitive awareness or our large bank accounts to forgive us our sin, to give us faith, and to make us one with Him and His community. In that regard, we become aware that we are no different than our poor and/or disabled brother and sister.

When we become aware of the absolute equality with ‘the least’, community- koinonia- the Greek word used 20 times in Scripture for 'fellowship, sharing in common, communion'- makes sense! We are equally created in the image of God, we are equal in our human depravity, and we are equal in that any grace anyone has received has been from God. We are one Body.

Therefore, as one Body, if one member suffers, we all suffer. When one rejoices, we all do. When one holds a banquet, all are invited. 

Whether through formal programming, or just meeting an individual or family where he or they are suffering or struggling, any church can do ‘disability ministry’. The call is for all, for all of the Body, to invite, to compel, ‘the poor and the crippled and the blind and the lame’ into the Kingdom of God and sharing a meal- that is, offering them repentance and the forgiveness of sin through Jesus' name, and truly becoming one Body- for the grace of God is for them, too!- in loving response to how the Father first invited us. This is how we reveal the religion of grace to the world.

'Rational' Suicide?

"'Rational' Suicide Advocates Push Assisted Suicide in Mental Health Journals"- A podcast edition of bioethicist Wesley J. Smith's 'What It Means to be Human'.

John Shelby Spong is Not My Liberator

John Shelby Spong is not my liberator.  

An advocate for the rights of those living homosexually for quite some time, in a recent manifesto, Bishop Spong declares that he will no longer debate nor pay any heed to those who would deny 'justice' to those who identify as gay or lesbian by calling homosexuality sinful.  

Justice.  God is a God of justice.  He demands it for the sin of man.  God cannot overlook sin- or He wouldn't be just.  

But God is also a God of mercy.  In His mercy, God met His demand for justice Himself.  He gave His own Son as a propitiation of His wrath to save people from it.

Romans 3:23-26 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation" [propitiation is the absorption or the appeasement of the wrath of God] "by his blood, to be received by faith.  This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.  It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

This is God's justice.  I sinned homosexually.  Jesus suffered and died for that sin, removing the wrath of God from me.

This is God's mercy.  God drew me to His Son and to His work on the Cross.  He called me to repentance, gave me faith, and freely forgave me from that sin.

This is God's freedom.  Having been washed, sanctified, and justified, in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit of God  (2 Corinthians 6:11), I now boldly approach the throne of grace, receiving the mercy and grace in time of need of a sympathetic High Priest who has been tempted in every way I have been and yet did not sin (Hebrews 4:14-16), enabling me to walk by His Spirit so that I may no longer gratify the desires of my flesh (Galatians 5:16).

Bishop Spong has been denying people the Gospel of Jesus Christ for decades.  This leaves us enslaved to sin.  (Romans 6:6).  In addition, we are enslaved to what overpowers us (2 Peter 2:19)- and homosexuality is very overpowering. 

John Shelby Spong is no liberator; he is an enslaver.  He boldly stands for my right to remain in my sin.  Jesus Christ sets me free from it.

'Quality of Life'

'Quality of life'.  Brothers and sisters, can we think about that phrase for a moment?  Can we think about what we are saying when we are using it?  Can we, as Christians, really use that phrase?

Consider the way we use it:

"Ma'am, your child will be born with Down syndrome.  I cannot guarantee his quality of life.  Here are your options."

"Sir, your father is in the middle stages of Alzheimer's.  His quality of life is decreasing more and more.  We need to discuss end of life care."

"What do you mean I'll never move my arms or legs again?  You mean I'll probably have to stay on this vent as well?  This isn't much of a quality of life!  I can't live like this!"

It would seem to me, that we have replaced the idea of 'not suffering too much' with 'quality of life'.  As though quality somehow correlates to suffering.  My friends, suffering is very much a part of the human condition.  We all suffer.  When is 'too much'?

'Quality of life', though, what does that phrase really mean?  Does it mean that we humans have become like packages of meat?  Some of us have Grade A quality lives, while others, Grade B, C, or D?  What decides quality of life?  Who decides?

In Scripture, the quality of human life is this: man was created in the image of God.  Human life, in all its stages and ages, is worthy of dignity and existence for this reason alone.

From another Scriptural standpoint, while man is also created in the image of God, men also are the sons and daughters of Adam.  Therefore, we were all created perfect- but we are all perfect no more.  Sinners, all of us, sick and not sick, disabled and not disabled, find our equal worth and equal value in the same source- the Cross of Christ.

If we want to say that a man is suffering very much, that he has acquired a severe disability, he is in much pain, he cannot work, his family is stressed to the max, and he is very depressed, say those things.  But don't try to determine the quality of his life based upon his suffering.  His life is still of equal quality (equality)- of equal value- to anyone else's.  It is as deserving of protection and preservation- even from his own very depressed mind- as is all of ours.

'Quality of life' is a dangerous phrase.  It threatens equality, human dignity, and judges human life as 'worthy' or 'not worthy'.  'Quality of life', in this day and age of 'options', and perhaps even 'duty', can turn all too quickly into 'qualified to live'

Down Syndrome, Suffering, and Grace

A recent study says that ninety-two percent of women who discover they are carrying a child with Down syndrome opt to abort the pregnancy.

I am not a parent, much less a parent of a child who will have a lifelong disability.  I can only imagine the feelings and thoughts that contribute to this 'choice'.  I imagine that fear of the unknown plays a role, for many of these parents who make this choice do not know people with Down syndrome.  I imagine that people are fearful of financial strain and the extra challenges that families with Down syndrome face.  I imagine, though, mostly a fear of suffering is involved.

For what parent wants to have his or her child suffer?  And, truth be told, men, women, and children with Down syndrome do suffer.  Oh, not to the terrible degree that doctors have described to parents since before Down syndrome even had a name, while convincing them to institutionalize their children in the past or abort them nowadays.  In fact, even while sharing with me their painful struggles related to their disability and the hurt and pain caused by mistreatment and abuse inflicted by others upon them, often, the men and women I have known with Down syndrome do not view themselves as having suffered any more than anyone else.   But it is a myth that people with Down syndrome are happier than other people.  

It's interesting.  From the world's view, while the purpose of suffering is debatable and the origin often ignored, the answer to suffering always seems to be to end it- even if the way to end it involves ending the life of the one that is suffering.   

Suffering seems to be a potent force in the lives of believers, as well.  For some, suffering seems to turn them away from God, from even the very idea of God, in frustration and mistrust.  While for others, suffering seems to be the cause for hoping in God for answers and comfort.

I do not have all the answers for suffering nor all the answers for those who will soon parent a child with Down syndrome.  God gives many answers in Scripture, but I haven't found them all.  But I have found some.

I am convinced that suffering exists, for instance, because it is a natural consequence to sin having entered the world.  But I am also convinced that God is a God of redemption, Who not only forgives sinners, but redeems the suffering sin has inflicted upon us.  Romans 8:28 says that God works all things for good for those who love God and who are called according to His purpose.

This includes Down syndrome.  For those who are saved, God works Down syndrome for good.

It is very, very true that people with Down syndrome and their families will face hardships unique to that particular developmental disability.  But it is also true that for those families and people with Down syndrome, God's grace will be made perfect in that weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)  It is easy to see the lows and the struggles that Down syndrome will bring.  But soon to be parents have no idea the grace and mercy that God will bring to them through their child.  

Nor do we, the Church, realize what we are missing when we are missing children and adults with Down syndrome in our congregations.  People with Down syndrome have unique gifts and callings that the Church needs- many that have nothing to do with their Down syndrome, for people with Down syndrome are so much more than their disability!  And we are certainly missing the way God brings redemption to Down syndrome and the good He causes through it.

So, this second to last paragraph is more an exhortation to myself, since I have been lacking in this area, but feel free to receive it for yourself, also.  Instead of simply condemning parents who are considering the choice to terminate the life of their unborn child who has Down syndrome, embrace those parents before the choice has been made and make room for them and their child in the Church.  And for those parents who have already made that tragic, sinful choice to abort, as God calls them to repentance, offer them the grace and mercy of the Cross that has been offered to you.  Forgive them and love them.

Down syndrome is in itself not a gift.  But, as all 'syndromes', sicknesses, and disabilities, when redeemed by the Redeemer, Down syndrome becomes a way that the very glory of God is revealed.  

Weakness and the Glory of God

Early in Scripture we read a seemingly disheartening command of God.  None of the offspring of Aaron, the priests of Israel, who had a disability could go through the veil and approach God’s altar, ‘lest he profane God’s sanctuaries’.  (Leviticus 21:23)  In addition, for sacrifice, God only accepted ‘perfect’ animals, those without blemish or illness.  Yet, even men in ‘perfect’ bodies sacrificing ‘perfect’ animals were not perfect enough to purify us once for all time- as was the perfect sacrifice made by Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7:26-28).

The animals sacrificed were a foreshadow and type of this perfect sacrifice to come.  The sacrificed animals and the men entering into God’s holiest place on Earth had to be as perfect as they could be to mimic the Christ.  However, neither were really perfect.

All priests had to offer sacrifices for themselves before offering sacrifices for the people, for these priests sinned.  Because of this sin, their bodies wouldn’t remain perfect forever.   They would with age begin to wither, fail, and die.   Had they not been sacrificed the bodies of these perfect animals, also, would also have grown old and died because sin was in the world.

God considered, for the Old Testament system of sacrifice, disability ‘profane’.  God always considers sin profane.  Could disability be profane because it is a result of sin in the world?

Yet, God doesn’t shun the person with the disability.  He still refers to Himself as their God, as the God Who sanctifies them.  (Leviticus 21:21, 23)  In His same grace and mercy, God doesn’t shun His sin-drenched people.  

God is a God of both justice and love.  God hates sin.  Sin must be atoned for.  However, God loves His people, and for His Holy namesake, forgives His people for their sin, sending His own Son as atonement.  For we His people cannot atone for ourselves.

We are not saved by our own righteousness.  Our righteousness is like filthy rags.  The only righteousness we have to offer God is that which was imputed to us by Christ at His sacrifice.  The only sacrifices we have to offer God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart.  God draws near to the humble.   God knows we are weak, that we are only dust.  He takes pity on the weak, and, while He demands us to do so, also, as Job found out, caring for the weak- the blind and the lame- did not even make him righteous ‘enough’.  (Job 29:15)  

There is hardly a greater a symbol of weakness than disability or illness, and these people to whom God seems most drawn.  While they were forbidden to enter the holy of holies, God comes to them.  To people like Paul who know that because God’s grace is made perfect in our weakness, when we are weak they are strong.  The only strength that is to be relied upon is God’s, as the only righteousness that is to be counted is Christ’s.  It is God Who opens the eyes of the blind and the deaf, makes the lame man leap, and the tongue of the mute sin for joy (Isaiah 35:5-6), and in His justice, Jesus came to open the eyes of the Spiritually blind.  (John 9:39) 

Interestingly, God calls people to weakness- before He calls us to stand and to run.  He calls us to repentance, to a time of contriteness and humility at salvation, making us His.  When we are God’s we rely on God’s strength, and, therefore, must die to our own.

In our weaknesses, God glorifies Himself.  It was because of a bodily ailment that Paul first preached the Gospel to the Galatians.  (Galatians 4:13)  God is just as glorified by leaving Paul with his ‘thorn’ in 2 Corinthians 12, as when Jesus gives glory to Him through the healing of a man born blind in John 9.

God receives glory in His compassion for the suffering and the hurting.  Jesus, for instance, Who only did the work that He saw His Father doing first, (John 5:19) ministered to and healed people with disabilities, illnesses, and sin.  He was filled with compassion for the widow whose only son had passed away.  After raising the son from the dead, He returned him to His mother.  This most compassionate act caused the people to cry, “God has visited His people!” (Luke 7:11-18)

In the resurrection of Christ, those of us called by God unto salvation, having had our spiritual eyes opened, have hope of an end to suffering.  Our physical weaknesses will have an ending.  We will not always be disabled, old, and emotionally vulnerable.  Most excitedly, in our new bodies we will no longer battle with sin.  One day, we will be perfect (1 Corinthians 15).

However, even in our perfect bodies in our perfect Home, human beings, once being imperfect, children of wrath and enemies of God, we will always remain dependent on Christ and His perfect sacrifice.  Upon Christ, who embraced weakness by putting human flesh and dying our death (Philippians 2:5-11) , to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18), to give us eternal life (John 3:16), which is knowing God (John 17:3), forever in perfect harmony with our Creator.