Special Needs. Special Love. Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Special Needs. Special Love.

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” John 9:1-3, NASU)

Every once in a while the Lord chooses to demonstrate His Father’s heart, His very precious love, in a very special way. Though some would consider this a mistake, and others might look upon it as being imperfect, He reveals a further, deeper, godly love. We too must have this in our hearts.

A special needs kid actually shows us the special love of God.

Maybe like me, when your child was birthed (those who have children), one of the first things you wanted to see is if they had ten fingers and ten toes. Before our modern medical devices such as sonograms, we didn’t even know if an unborn child was a male or female. So the natural thing was to look. I remember doing just that, to make sure each one was “perfect”, with no defects or being odd in any way. At least as I then understood things.

It has always been a part of human culture to make these judgments, even at the moment of birth, whether someone was good or bad. We would then act accordingly. In far too many cases, if the child had a defect, or abnormality, they were considered not worthy of life. Some ungodly cultures even destroy life if not to their standards. Even in the “modern world”, these times we now live in, knowing ahead of time as we do the growth and development of the unborn, abortion is considered a viable option, the “human” thing to do, if an abnormality or unwanted condition is present. We want to apply our so called wise wisdom - “Save the suffering, for the child and the parents or caretaker.”

How far we have fallen from the heart of God.

Even in other matters about us - if an object has a small blemish, we toss it out. If there is some peculiar look about it, and it doesn’t fit the generally accepted mold, our far too often response is to typically reject, remove or replace. We tend to not want anything out of the ordinary around us.

When Jesus was asked who sinned, his parents or the one born blind, He responded, as written above, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3)

Our thinking would be, “Why would the Lord have allowed this in the first place? Doesn’t He make all things good?” Of course the Lord does. And He also demonstrates His love in ways we don’t fully understand.

I am now believing that what we for so long considered “good”, having no spot or wrinkle, isn’t quite the way He has seen it, in His wisdom and understanding. The Perfect Lamb, Jesus our Messiah, Yeshua HaMashiach was the only one without spot or wrinkle. All the rest of us have them. And yet, the Lord demonstrates continually His perfect love for us, and His creation, very simply and quite profoundly, in the very acts He daily shows, with His perfect love for all things. And people.

Special needs kids, as we have now labeled them, actually show us the perfect love of God. Given the fact that He Himself has blessed us with them, by showing His love for what has been called for too long “imperfect”, clearly reveals a deeper aspect of the love our Lord has for His creation.

My respect for those who have special needs kids is immense. I can appreciate the extra care, time and outpouring of love it takes in raising a child with abilities not present in some areas of their life. I also understand those special demonstrations of the Father’s love that He has given to them. As for their parents and family members, I believe He gives extra grace for the care needed.

Love for His people, which come in all shapes, sizes and sectors of life, must go beyond that for only the “lovely and the whole” as we would consider them. His love for all creation takes special love, which He will give to us, for them, as we abide in Him.

Now think on this, in the love of Jesus,

Steve Martin

Love For His People, Inc.

P.S. I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

We are blessed when the ministry receives gifts to bless the families that we do in Israel, India, Pakistan and the hurting ones here in the USA. You also can share out of the abundance you have been given.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

If these messages minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

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Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)

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Now Think On This - In the New Year of our Lord 01.10.15 - #231 –“Special Needs. Special Love” – Sunday at 7:30apm

All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This

Again, I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE FEATURED BOOK

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Buy here: Arms of Love by Steve Martin

In 2010 the Lord God of Israel, my Savior Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach), led me to start the ministry we call Love For His People. Its primary purpose is to share the love of the Lord with the nation of Israel, Jews around the world, and the people in all the nations as we can. For that end, through social media, writing and distributing books, and in person ministry, we are seeing the love of Jesus spread. We are grateful that He has given us much love in order to do just that.

We often hear the word “love” spoken out loud, and written about, in many ways. It has contrasting meanings to the wide range of people that exist, as it is expressed in different methods through people. When it has all been said and done, there is an eternal love that will stand the test of fire. Because the biblical expression of love, laying down one’s life for his friends, has eternal value, this love from God the Father to His creation is the type that I most seek after and try to share. 

In these short chapters of Arms of Love, which is also the title of a song Laurie and I sang while leading various church worship meetings, and as the lead singers in our Ahava Love Band, I share some aspects of how I believe the Bible speaks of love. For you who are about to read this, my prayer is that your heart will be enlarged with His, and you too will become one, even more, to give love for His people, both Jew and Gentile, both saved and unsaved. 

I hope that as you read these chapters, you will become more inspired to spend time with the Lord, experience His heart of love, and share it with our fellow man. The world needs to know the love of God. 

Steve Martin 

Charlotte, NC 

Jan. 2016

The Group Forgotten by the Church by Ellen Stumbo

The Group Forgotten by the Church 

by Ellen Stumbo 

- Identity Network

 

I consider it an honor to be a pastor's wife. It is a privilege to be allowed into people's lives: their hurt, pain, devastation, joy, celebration, transformation. This church, this body of Christ - with all of its broken pieces along with its many gifts and talents - is beautiful. But it can also be so ignorant that it pushes away the most vulnerable.

 

Recently, I was talking to a friend who attends a large and thriving church. She wanted to ask me about a comment her pastor said from the pulpit, because she felt uneasy as soon as it was said.

 

"It saddens me to see people with disabilities in our church," he said. "It is a reminder that we do not have enough faith."

 

Now let that sit with you for a minute.

 

All Life has Value and Purpose

 

I wish this was the only time when well-intentioned church leaders show their ignorance on disability or their lack of understanding that all life has value and purpose. I wish this was an isolated incident in which someone failed to recognize that we are all flawed - all of us. 

Because what about the man that carries lust in his heart? Or the woman who is full of bitterness and jealousy? Are those not more damaging to our souls than a physical or intellectual disability? Do we not all need healing from the addictions, selfishness and pride that we carry?

 

Perhaps we have forgotten that life is a journey and the ultimate healing will come as we stand before the Lord, our bodies restored, our brokenness gone. All of us, every single one of us, healed!

 

My heart breaks as a member of this beautiful church when I see us failing the most vulnerable. When I see our ignorance crush a people group that needs us to come along their side and offer support, rather than judgment, of what we perceive to be a lack of faith.

 

So what do we say when someone prays and prays and prays for healing? That they don't have enough faith? That there must be hidden sin in their lives? Isn't that ultimately what we communicate? And what does that say about God? Doesn't this attitude foster a perception of an uncaring, detached, judgmental God?

 

When my daughter was born with Down syndrome, one of my friends confessed she thought I deserved it. She said that I must have done something wrong for God to give me a child with a disability. Sadly, this is the message she had heard from her church, the same church I had attended growing up, the same message I'd heard. Thankfully, at that point in life I had personal experience with children with disabilities. I also had a real, deep relationship with God, the same God that whispered to me, I don't make mistakes.

 

So I clung to this verse:

 

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;

you formed me in my mother's womb.

I thank you, High God-you're breathtaking!

Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

I worship in adoration-what a creation!

You know me inside and out,

you know every bone in my body;

You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,

how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;

all the stages of my life were spread out before you,

The days of my life all prepared

before I'd even lived one day (Ps. 139:13-16, MSG).

 

The Church's Response

 

So how does the church receive us families living with disability?

 

Here is a sad reality: 80 percent of families that have a member with a disability do not attend church. Yes, 80 percent!

 

Why?

 

There are several reasons, and I will let you hear from other families:

• My child is not welcomed in any of the children's activities; they said he is too disruptive.

• I took my child to Sunday school class, but they wheeled him to the corner, and he sat there until I came to pick him up.

• They said I had to keep my child with me because they had nobody that could help care for her during children's church. I tried, but she can be noisy, so an usher asked us to please leave the sanctuary because she was disrupting the service.

• I asked the pastor if we could possibly have someone help my child during Sunday school; they told me they were not responsible to find me babysitters.

• It's not worth it. My child cannot handle the sensory overload.

• When my child is loud, people stare at us and shake their heads. I even had people tell me that my child needs discipline. My child has autism, and they know it! I'm not going back.

• My child is welcomed, but almost every Sunday they call me and I have to go get her from her class. Why bother?

• I tried starting a special needs class for kids, but the church leadership did not support me; they said there was no need.

• For 20 years, my wife and I took turns going to church. One Sunday she would go and I stayed home with our son; the next one we switched.
• 
  

Sadly, there are many more stories like these, and I often wonder, "Why is it that nobody offered to babysit their child during the service? Or in their home? Nobody thought it would be good for the parents to go to church?"

 

I am especially astounded when I hear people say, "There is no need for a special needs focus in the church."

 

I'm going to switch gears just for a second here.

 

There is a strong home-schooling Christian movement where parents are concerned about the negative influence their children receive attending public school. Yes, it is a scary world out there, and I have considered home schooling myself. What our children get exposed to is devastating. Thankfully, there are so many Christian churches that fully support the home-schooling movement, investing time and resources to help this little community.

 

So isn't it sad, isn't it puzzling, that the only classroom where our kids with special needs are fully included is the public school classroom rather than the Sunday school class? Isn't there something wrong when the public school setting is more accepting, loving and supportive to kids with disabilities rather than the church?

 

Take a moment. Think about it.

 

Reaching Out

 

Did you know that 80 percent of marriages end up in divorce when there is a child with a disability in the family? So shouldn't the church support these families?

 

Did you know that special needs families feel isolated? So shouldn't the church be the place where they feel included?

 

Did you know that special needs families feel constantly judged? So shouldn't the church be a place where there is no judgment?

 

Did you know that people with disabilities are the largest minority in the world? Yes - the largest minority!

 

Disability ministry is a huge need! Let's wake up. We are the church!

 

Disability is a part of life. It has nothing to do with faith. It has nothing to do with healing. It has everything to do with being human. It has everything to do with being the body of Christ. People with disabilities are part of the body, and we need them. We need them just as much as they need us. We are all connected in this journey - all of us. All of us!

 

We have an unreached people group in our own backyard. A people group that has been marginalized by society for too long. It is time that as a church, we embrace them, we accept them and we celebrate them!

 

Instead of praying for healing, let's pray for God to open our hearts and our eyes to the needs of people and children living with disability. Let's figure out how to do life together. And let's embrace, forgive, celebrate, accept and love unconditionally.

 

And let's never forget that people/children with disabilities are people first, fearfully and wonderfully made.

 

This beautiful church has much to learn about disability. We need to create awareness and educate our leaders, and in doing so, it is important that we extend grace and forgiveness. You and I can be a part of the solution. Grace and forgiveness - we all need it.

 

Ellen Stumbo

www.ellenstumbo.com

 

 

 

 

 

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