tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825243.post872710073283021693..comments2024-01-06T07:53:11.832-08:00Comments on disabled Christianity: Less honorable need abundant honorJeff McNairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10029386598033932429noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825243.post-85993605000177144282007-08-03T15:56:00.000-07:002007-08-03T15:56:00.000-07:00Paul reminds us, in the passage you quote, that, i...Paul reminds us, in the passage you quote, that, in God's eyes, there are not gifts that are more or less honorable, to His service. The pastor may be a brilliant student of the Word, an excellent teacher and an inspiring speaker. Does that make his contribution to the Church body more valuable than the middle school girl who stays for an extra service to help out with the pre-schoolers, or the guy directing traffic in the parking lot, the greeters at the entrance to the sanctuary, the servers of coffee and donuts and the brave souls who clean the men's room (Have you ever been in there after third service?)?<BR/><BR/>Jeff, you correctly point out, that that a strong desire for self-sufficiency in our day to day lives creates in us a kind of functional atheisim. At least, the operational idea that I'm ok with this, for now; I'll call you if I need you, big Guy. That doesn't work when things get rough. As the saying goes,"There are no atheists in foxholes."<BR/><BR/>Those in our communities with developmental disabilities and abundant faith confound the deniers because the athiest cannot understand how anyone, much less someone with profound disabilities, reacts with anything less than rage against the capricious will of a God that allows this sort of thing to occur. <BR/><BR/>When a man who has suffered a traumatic, devastating brain injury,responds to the athiest's challenge with a powerful explanation of the reasons for his faith (1 Ptr, 3:15)God is glorified by the simple explanation offered for this man's faith and the inability of the denier to refute it. <BR/><BR/>The believer is built up by this testimony because it supports and amplifies his/her own faith, which at times may be more shakey that the man with the brain injury.<BR/><BR/>One day we will understand God's will perfectly (1 Cor. 13:12. Until then, it may help if we wrestle with the idea of the tremendous gulf God covered in becoming human, as Jesus, bridging the gap between God and humanity. The distance He traveled, lowering himself, to become human, makes insignificant the trivial developmental differences between the most and least gifted among ourselves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com