Saturday 27 July 2013

When God Says "No" to a Noble Dream

Read: 1 Chronicles 22:7-16 & Acts 16:6-10

One of the biggest–and often, most frustrating–tests of faith for people who are seeking to follow God’s will for their lives are those times when God seems to put a dream in our heart, and lead us toward the realization of that dream for a time, but then stops us short before our dream becomes a reality.

I, for one, have had this scenario play out more than once in my own life, and can therefore attest to the fact that it’s not a pleasant or fun experience. For illustration purposes, let me just sketch out one of my most life-altering experiences of this scenario. Although, strictly speaking, my PhD is in English, I had managed to integrate my growing interest in the emerging fields of Disability Studies and Disability Ethics into my doctoral work. The scholarly work that I did in these fields during my doctorate led to my being invited to apply for the position of Postdoctoral Fellow on a research team examining end-of-life issues affecting people with disabilities. The position was two provinces away from my home, and people with my severity of disability don’t usually pull up stakes and move halfway across the country for work! But God wanted me there, so He provided, not only the job, but also accessible housing with attendant care, plus an agreement that I could return home after a year, and complete the second half of the contract from there, so that I could help care for my mother, who was suffering from dementia. When that first postdoc ended, God provided a second postdoc, specifically in Disability Ethics, at my home university. At the end of my second postdoc, I was hired by my home university to develop and implement a Certificate Program in Disability Ethics. It seemed obvious that God had equipped, led, and positioned me to develop and run this program. Yet, within the next eighteen months, Faculty administrations changed, there was a university-wide budget cut-back, and both the would-be Certificate Program and my job were terminated.

Did I get it wrong? Did I somehow misjudge the way that God was leading me?  These are natural questions in these circumstances. Yet, in reading the Bible, I find that I’m not the first person to find ostensible dead-ends and unexpected U-turns along the path that God leads me.  On the contrary, it turns out that I’m in pretty good company! King David, for example, had it in his heart to build a temple for the Lord. He even receives initial encouragement from the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 7:2-3). But God abruptly nixes David’s noble plan, announcing that it is not David, but rather David’s son whom He has chosen to build a temple (2 Samuel 7:12-13). Similarly, Luke reports in Acts 16:6-7 that “Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” Here again, we see God saying a firm “No!” to the noble plan of His servants, despite the fact that circumstances would indicate that He was the one who had led them towards the conception and completion of that plan. Thus faced with God’s seemingly inexplicable negation of a noble plan, His servants are challenged to accept the ultimate wisdom and graciousness of His leading, and, in faith, continue to follow.

Gracious All-Knowing Father, in those times when you say no to a noble dream of mine, help me remember that, if you were small enough for my finite mind to be able to understand all of your ways, you would cease to be God.  May I learn to trust your unfailing goodness and love for me so that I can continue to follow you wholeheartedly–even through the apparent dead-ends and U-turns.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Life in a Clay Jar: When Cracking Up is a Good Thing

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:1-12

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Cor. 4:7) 

In the usual scheme of things, we tend to put things of value in safe and secure places, most of which are kept out of plain sight: safe deposit boxes, locked drawers, etc. We generally do this because we fear that leaving something of value out in the open will significantly increase the risk that it will get damaged, or lost, or stolen. We think that, the more hidden away something of value is, the better the chances of preserving it for our future use.

In today’s Bible reading, the Apostle Paul tells us that God takes a very different attitude. God entrusts the most valuable thing in the universe–the good news that God sent His son Jesus to make it possible for humans to find forgiveness for their sins and come into a right relationship with Himself–to the very same weak and sinful humans that Jesus came into the world to save. To be sure, this is something of an oxymoron! But, even a cursory overview of Biblical history shows that it’s God’s M.O. to choose people who are both morally and physically weak to carry His message and accomplish His purposes on earth. Paul himself is a prime example of this; not only did he refer to himself as the worst of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), he was also constantly plagued by a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7), which kept him ever mindful of his own physical and spiritual weakness and insufficiency.

To put in another way, Paul was only too well aware that he was a “cracked pot”! Yet, at the same time, Paul was also very aware of God’s ability to make those very cracks in his physical and spiritual strength into channels through which God’s grace and mercy become clearly evident.

Gracious Heavenly Father, When I become discouraged by my persistent physical and/or spiritual weakness, remind me of your intent and ability to use these cracks in my physical and spiritual strength as showcase windows through which your grace and mercy can be seen by all. Grant me the grace and wisdom not to let my own pride and desire for self-sufficiency obscure the view. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Thursday 18 July 2013

"Very Well" Versus "Well, Fine!"

Read: 2 Samuel 10:1-14

“....The LORD will do what is good in his sight." (2 Samuel 10:12)

A friend of mine was telling me about her adventures in babysitting her three-year-old nephew. The little one seemed irresistibly attracted to virtually every potentially dangerous object in her apartment–sharp knives, pots cooking on the stove, even the stapler on her desk. For the balance of two solid days, my friend was kept busy running after her nephew, snatching these potentially dangerous objects from out of his reach to prevent him from hurting himself. Invariably, the little guy’s response to these loving acts of protection by his aunt was to stomp his feet and let out an exasperated “Well, fine!”

It occurs to me that, when it comes to my relationship with God, I quite often act very much like my friend’s little nephew. Many times, I will set my mind and heart on some plan or goal that seems to promise the best of all possible outcomes for my life–at least the most desirable outcome that I can envision at that point in time. But then, when God, who knows “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10 ), comes along and, in a loving act of protection, snatches that treasured plan or goal from out of my reach, my first response is not one of trust and gratitude, but rather, it’s to stomp my feet and let out an exasperated “Well, fine!”

It’s during these times that I need to consciously remind myself that God has explicitly told us in His Word that His intentions toward us are ALWAYS good. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” If I really believe this to be true, then my response to God’s snatching my own plans from out of my reach needs to be one of trusting submission, “Very well,” rather than one of grudging acquiescence, “Well, fine!”

Gracious Heavenly Father, Thank You that You know infinitely more about what’s really best for me than I do. Forgive me for those times when I lose sight of that fact and respond to Your loving acts of protection with an angry and exasperated “Well, fine!” Please help me to recognize Your perfect will for my life and respond with a trusting and thankful “Very well.”

Tuesday 9 July 2013

From Dust, to Clay, to a Master-Piece

by Heidi Janz

Read: Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:7; Jeremiah 18:1-6

Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

It seems to me that the task of maintaining a proper view of ourselves as human beings can often be a pretty tricky business for Crips and TABs alike. For those of us who are crips, there seems to be a virtually constant temptation, coming from both within ourselves and the society around us, to focus on our disabilities and consequent dependence on others as factors which somehow diminish our value, if not our status, as human beings. TABs, on the other hand, seem to face an equally constant temptation to link their ultimate value as human beings to their capacity to function as self-reliant and productive members of society.

Today’s Scripture readings point to a fundamental error in both of these mindsets. The verses from Genesis and Jeremiah make it clear that, rather than being derived from anything we can or cannot do in our own strength, our ultimate value as humans comes from the fact that, Crip or TAB, God made us in His own image. As a being created in the image of God, every human has an innate value and dignity that is totally independent of any abilities or disabilities that he or she may have or acquire. At the same time, these Scriptures also make it clear that, because God created us, He has the absolute right to shape and mould us just as He sees fit–just as a potter has the absolute right to shape and mould the clay in his hands according to his own design.

This idea that it is God, rather than we ourselves, who both gives us our value and determines our destiny stands in direct opposition to our contemporary society’s worship of self-determination and self-actualization. Nevertheless, those who are willing to find their sense of worth in their relationship to the God who created them, and acknowledge God’s claim on their lives, are those who will ultimately be able to achieve and maintain a proper view of who they are and what they were created for. They  understand that, while they may only be lumps of clay, if they entrust themselves into the hands of the Master Potter, they will ultimately come forth as masterpieces.

Almighty Creator God, thank you for giving me life, and for giving my life innate worth by creating me in your image. Please help me to fully entrust myself into your hands, as clay in the hands of the Master Potter, believing that you will use both my strengths and weaknesses to mould me into the masterpiece that you’ve created me to be. Grant me the wisdom, patience, and perseverance to submit to the moulding process, even when it is painful, for I know that, little by little, you are making me more like Jesus. Thank you, Father, for how patient and determined you are in moulding me into a masterpiece. Amen.

Friday 5 July 2013

Marginalia #2: Thoughts scribbled in the margin of my Bible

by Shafer Parker

Mat. 1:19-20 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”

What I scribbled: “Joseph was a man who ‘considered’ things. This is huge. God make me a man who considers things.”

I sometimes think Joseph might have been the only man in the world who would “consider” things when faced with his situation. His wife-to-be was pregnant and he knew he was not the father. Most men would have said, “What’s to consider?” and then rejected Mary in whatever way would hurt her most.

But Joseph was not most men. He was the man God selected to be surrogate father to His only begotten Son. So it’s worth noting that when faced with the worst possible crisis in any man’s life, he thought twice, and then decided to behave in the most gracious way possible.

When I scribbled in the margin a prayer that God would help me “consider things,” I was thinking of how often I react to situations with pure emotion, often with anger or a dangerous level of self-righteousness. I want God to help me consider how to react like a Christian, assuming the best, not the worst, thinking of how to help others, not hinder them, how to accord them honour, not take the lead in disrespecting them and tearing them down.

Eternity in Our Hearts

by Heidi Janz

Read: Eccl. 3:1-14

"... He has also set eternity in the human heart..." (Eccl. 3:11)
 
There are some people who thrive on change–people who find themselves stagnating and growing restless if they are left in the same situation for too long. Then, there are people who generally dread change, and usually do whatever is possible to avoid it. This is often because, in one way or another, they have come to equate change with loss.

I’m someone who definitely belongs to the second group of people; I’ve always had a hard time dealing with change. Even positive changes, like graduating from the “special” school for students with disabilities that I had attended from Kindergarten through Grade Twelve and starting university, or getting my first Post-Doctoral Fellowship and having to move to a different province, were very stressful and scary for me because they involved leaving a place of familiarity and security to go to a place shrouded by a countless number of huge and overwhelming unknowns. In both instances, although I was excited by the new possibilities that these major changes would bring into my life, at the same time I grieved for the loss of relationships and security that these changes would inevitably mean for me.

During times of major change in our lives, we may long a sense of permanence and security which transcends the upheaval that often accompanies change. King Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes, tells us that God “has set eternity in the human heart.” While there is some debate among Biblical scholars about the exact meaning of this phrase, there is general consensus that Solomon was, at least in part, talking about a basic, God-given human longing for a time and a place of ultimate completeness. Such a longing can and will never be completely fulfilled in our earthly lifetime. It is part of what seventeenth-century French philosopher Blaise Pascal described in the following terms: “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”
(Blaise Pascal, Pensees)

Gracious Heavenly Father, Thank you that even the biggest and scariest changes in my life never come as a surprise to you. Please help me remember that ultimate security is only found in you. During times of change and upheaval in my life, may you be my refuge and my solid Rock. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Thursday 4 July 2013

Marginalia #1: Thoughts scribbled in the margins of my Bible

by Shafer Parker

Matthew 1:5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.

What I scribbled in the margin of my Bible: “If your mother is a Canaanite prostitute, it’s likely that you will have fewer scruples re your wife’s Moabite background.”

Many commentators have noted that all four of the women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus have a moral stain on their lives. Tamar (v.3) pretended to be a prostitute in order to entice her father-in-law Judah to have sex with her. Rahab was the prostitute (harlot) who hid the Israelite spies in her house of ill repute. Ruth was a Moabitess, and although the Bible makes no suggestion that she was anything but pure, just being from Moab was a moral stain in the eyes of Jacob’s descendants. They were, after all, children of incest (Gen. 19:30-38). The last mentioned is Bathsheba, wife of Uriah and an adulteress who left no record that she ever once considered resisting David’s advances.

But what interests me just now is Boaz’s willingness to marry Ruth, the Moabitess. Whatever could have prompted him to marry so far beneath his station? Well, consider his mother, the aforementioned Rahab, she whose first career was carved out in what is sometimes called the world’s oldest profession. But that was not the Rahab Boaz knew. His mother had become a believer in the God of Israel. Her life had been transformed by God’s grace, and the mother he knew was a woman of character and an example of faith for all the world.

Maybe Boaz could get past Ruth’s heritage because he knew very well what God had done in his mother’s life. Maybe all of us could get past a lot of things in other people if we could just keep in mind how much God has forgiven in us.

Tuesday 2 July 2013

Remembering What We're Made Of

Read: Psalm 103 

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
(Ps. 103:13-14)

As humans, we generally don’t like to think about, or be reminded of, our own weakness, vulnerability, and ultimate mortality. When I teach university classes on Disability Studies and Disability Ethics, I introduce the term TAB—that is, Temporarily Able-Bodied—in order to make students consciously think about the fact that, if they live long enough, they, too, will acquire some sort of  disability in the course of their lifetime. From time to time, I've had one or another of my twenty-something-year-old students express resentment at my assumption that they will acquire some kind of disability at some point in their life. It has often seemed to me that such objections say less about the tendency of young  people to believe that they're indestructible, than they reveal about our basic human aversion to dealing with the reality of our vulnerability and our inevitable physical death.

The Psalmist tells us that God has a very different attitude towards our physical weakness and mortality: “he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” It is because God is mindful of both our physical frailty and our spiritual weakness, which leads us into sin, that He sent His son, Jesus, to be our great high priest. To thus fulfill his role as our great high priest, Jesus “had to be made like [us] fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17-18).

This is why those who have put their trust in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour need not fear either their physical or spiritual weakness. God remembers that we are dust, and has made the ultimate provision for our spiritual and physical weakness by sending Jesus to be our great high priest, who sacrificed Himself for our sin so that we can be forgiven and have eternal life.

Gracious Heavenly Father, Thank you for remembering our physical and spiritual weakness, and for sending your son, Jesus, to be our great high priest. Grant us an ever-deepening knowledge of the completeness of the salvation we’ve received by trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, so that we need no longer fear times of either physical or spiritual weakness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Monday 1 July 2013

Here by Divine Assignment


From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. (Acts 17:26)

As someone living with severe and multiple disabilities, there are many times when I become acutely aware of my “Otherness”–my difference from those around me. In a society that places supreme value on independence and autonomy, the severity of my physical disabilities render me totally dependent on others to meet even the most basic of my physical needs. At a time where communication is expected to be instant, it often takes me half an hour or more to type a single email. (Don’t even get me started on texting! :-)) At a time when the value of a life usually gets conflated with what Temporarily Able-Bodied people assume to be a quality of life, and when that quality of life is presumed to be automatically and drastically lowered by just the presence of disability, I insist that my life is still worthwhile, even if I sometimes have to eat through a feeding-tube.

Given the general tendency of our society to devalue our lives and discount our ability to contribute meaningfully to our communities, there is, I think, a strong temptation for those of us with significant disabilities to remain withdrawn and not even try to engage with a society that seems, more and more, to devalue and discount our very presence, let alone our participation. I am becoming more and more convinced, however, that, particularly for Christ-followers who have disabilities, withdrawal and disengagement from society are not viable options, especially at a time when there are so many disability-related ethical issues being debated in this country–issues which have the potential to impact the lives of hundreds and thousands of people with disabilities. The Bible tells us that none of us live where we live by accident; we are where we are by God’s assignment. To me, this means that those of us who live in North America, and have disabilities, and who have been blessed with the capacity to communicate in ways that society at large is able to understand, have a God-given duty to speak out, to ensure that the perspective of people with disabilities is heard in the public forum.

Loving Heavenly Father, Thank you that, in your wisdom, you have strategically placed me in a country, a province, a city where I can make a difference. Please open my eyes to the opportunities you give me to speak out in the interests of those devalued by society. In Jesus’ name. Amen.