Mark Stephenson

Anje, thanks for your insightful comments. In case a reader doesn't understand your reference to Holland and Italy, it comes from a story by Emily Perl Kingsley called Welcome to Holland. It's a wonderful story, but I can't agree with you more, Anje, that the story describes only the experiences of some people affected by disabilities, but surely not all.

Bill, I don't understand. Why wouldn't a person who has a disability be able to pull his/her share on a sports team if he has the abilities to perform the sport at the same level as the other athletes on the team? Mark 

Bill, you asked, "If a person is able to do everything well that is required to be done on a sports team, which requires mental, social, psychological, and physical qualities, then in what other ways might this person be "disabled?""

A blind or a deaf swimmer, or a deaf runner, or a deaf basketball player all could fit the definitions of "disabled" and "skilled athlete." We are so used to conventional ways of doing things in sports (a starting gun or a buzzer) that we can't imagine how someone with a disability such as hearing impairment could compete. But, for example, a series of flashes could be used in addition to a buzzer to start a swim event. Oscar Pistorius is a flesh and blood example; an outstanding runner who also has a disability.

My understanding of this law is not that it will force coaches to include kids without the necessary abilities to be included on a team, but that it requires organizers of the sports to rethink how to make it possible for kids who have disabilities to compete fairly with the rest of the competition. It's purpose is to reduce disability discrimination in school sports.

b-ver and John,

Thanks for your comments. I think what we are talking about is the whole matter of hope. This gets personal for me. My mother now lives with severe dementia. One of my daughters has lived with severe disabilities her entire life. I have never been able to have a conversation with her. And for a guy who loves words, this is a painful reality that I live with. Walking is difficult for her, and her lungs are full of scars so that she can only walk a few feet before become winded. I firmly believe that when all things are made new in Christ, mom will have her mind back, and my daughter will have abilities that she never had on this earth. I can't wait to sit down with her and have a conversation, but that won't happen on this earth.

My point in this blog has not been to question that God is going to renew all of our bodies in the new heavens and earth, my point is that those of us who write and speak must be very careful how we speak about that so that we foster hope, not crush it.

Since we've been talking about the Deaf community, let's imagine a man who is a member of that community. (b-ver, a man is as good example as a woman.) My example is hypothetical, but it is all based on real people. Let's imagine that this man, Ted, is born to parents who are also both deaf and speak American Sign Language (ASL) in the home. When Ted was born and his parents learned that he, like them, was deaf, they rejoiced because he would be much more a chip off the old block than if he had been born with hearing. Ted grew up in this home speaking, from his very first word, in ASL. He went to Deaf schools and graduated from Gallaudet University, whose mission is to ensure "the intellectual and professional advancement of deaf and hard of hearing individuals through American Sign Language and English." His wife, his occupation, and his friendships all revolve around the fact that he his deaf. Then Ted comes across this statement written by a Christian leader, "I hate disease. I’m sick of it. So is Christ. Consider his response to the suffering of a deaf mute . . . "

Ted might think to himself, "Wait a minute. People who were deaf in Jesus' day probably did suffer severely. But that's not me. Since when has deafness become a "disease?" I can't imagine myself not being deaf. It's has formed who I am. In fact, if heaven means that I have to give up my entire identity, then I don't want any part of it."

Now contrast Ted with Herm. (I was Herm's pastor, though I've changed his name.) As Herm's hearing grew worse and worse, he withdrew from his wife, his children, and grandchildren. He considered himself too old to learn to read lips, and didn't want to ask others to write things out. More and more, he was alone in his thoughts, and grew more and more depressed. Now imagine that one day Herm's wife reads these words in a devotional, "I hate disease. I’m sick of it. So is Christ. Consider his response to the suffering of a deaf mute . . . " When she finished the devotional, she said outloud, "Amen." She showed it to Herb who read it and a tear formed in his eye. They copied it off and sent it to all the children.

My main point in this blog is this: as leaders seek to foster hope, they need to keep people like Ted in view as well as Herm. I could give many more examples as well, such as Amos, who embraces his brother Mark's identity as someone who lives with Down Syndrome, and can't imagine why God would take away that identity when Mark goes to heaven.

Of course, the bottom line is that for each of us, our identity is not in the accidents of our bodies but in our union with Christ. For many who live with a disability, that disability is a horrible intruder in their lives, and they can't wait to shed it. But for some of our fellow Christians, their identities are closely allied with their disability. Those of us who speak and write need to be careful not to alienate those folks as we seek to comfort the people for whom disability is a rude intruder.

John, thanks for your comment and this opportunity to clarify. I'm not suggesting that Jesus does not heal, nor am I saying that the new life we will have with our resurrected bodies won't be unspeakably wonderful. My concern is with Lucado's handling of these themes with regard to people with disabilities. In my opinion, in his attempt to foster hope for the future he diminishes people in the present. I'm especially concerned with his implication that people with disabilities are somehow automatically less Christlike because they have a disability. This may not be his intent, however, people with disabilities frequently endure subtle and overt suggestions that their disability is a punishment for their lack of faith or for some sin in their lives. For example, my wife and I were told once that our daughter lives with severe disabilities because we don't have enough faith. This devotion by Lucado plays right into the wrong-headed and unscriptural teaching that people with disabilities are less Christian than people who do not have disabilities.

Tyl,

The give and take of this confirmation helps me to clarify my own ideas. Thank you for sticking with it. (To avoid repeating the same phrase over and over, I'll use "the age to come," "the life to come," and "the new heavens and earth" as synonyms.)

I'll try to explain again what I mean by "bear the marks of one's disability." I assume that God is a God of economy. None of our experiences gets wasted. Instead our experiences conform us more to the image of Christ. The image of Christ is so big and broad, that no human can do so by him or herself. But we bring our own unique gifts to the body of Christ both in this life and in the life to come. As we listen to each other and value each other and value the unique gifts and perspectives that each member of Christ's body brings to the body of Christ, then the body of Christ becomes more complete, more whole, while here on this earth. But that is only the beginning of the process; the real completion and wholeness will come about in the life to come.

So for example, my daughter is a part of the body of Christ now, and she brings a unique contribution to the healthy functioning of the body that would not be there without her. I do believe that she will walk and speak in the new heavens and earth, but I would not want to say that she will be made "whole" in the age to come, unless we also use that same language about all of us who are members of Christ's body. Rather than say that Nicole will be made whole in the age to come, I would rather say that she makes the body of Christ more whole in this age, and she will make the body of Christ more whole in the age to come. She brings a unique perspective and gifts and presence to the body of Christ as she is today. Her unique perspective and set of gifts and presence comes to the body of Christ now because Nicole is as she is, not in spite of her disabilities but through her disabilities. (God is a God of economy.) And I believe God works in her life now and will do so after her death so that her unique perspective and gifts and presence will be brought into the age to come as well. And that's what I think of when I say that she will bear the marks of her disability in the age to come.

Mark