“Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted.”
Isaiah 49:13 (NKJV) Passage Reading: John 9:1-41 I have a dear friend that is the mother of 2 boys. My brother is also the proud father of TWO sets of twins! I could not help but think of them this week as I read these Scripture and Passage Sections. You see, my friend is the mom of a vivacious and energetic autistic pre-teen. My brother – the father of a little girl with cystic fibrosis. In these passages, we see Christ’s disciples are curious to discover the reason behind a young man’s blindness. Like us, they ask God, “Why? Who did what to cause this person’s affliction? Was this by some fault of his own? Did his parents do something to cause him to be this way?” So many times we want to question why? Better still, we want something or someone to blame. Why is it that we never take into consideration that this person, who is different from the rest of us, could be the tool that Christ, through His mercy, is using to reach the very onlookers? In this particular case, God was using the blind man to teach others to see. In our lesson, we also get just a glimpse at this young man’s parents. Although we are not told much about them or their lifestyle, we do see that this infirmity is one that they nurtured their child through from birth. We can assume that they are still very much a part of his life. Although life certainly could not have been easy for them, we can deduce that a loving home environment was fostered by them. There is even a mention of their neighbors. We could presume that others from time to time would assist in this nurturing process. Through their mercy, these served as sources of support and encouragement to this young man’s parents. I cannot say that I know firsthand what life is like for a parent who has been chosen to rear a child with a disability. I can only imagine, from the long discussions that I have had with the ones I love, many times it feels as if you are all alone in an unyielding battle. I know that there are many moms in our area that deal with these same trials on a daily basis. My hope is that you will find solace and strength this week as you read God’s provision of hope for you in His Word. If you are not blessed to have a child or other relative in your family that allows you to see the awesome power of Christ through autism, cystic fibrosis, or other disorder, I encourage you to find direction and compassion through these same passages. If you would like to learn more about autism or cystic fibrosis, please visit www.autismspeaks.org or www.cff.org.
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April 2023
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