Daily Encouragement Net (Print Version)

“Encourage one another daily” (Hebrews 3:13).

A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.

Friday, May 13, 2005

"Perspective"

"This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life" (John 9:3).

Brooksyne recently had an interesting experience and I asked her to share it in today's encouragement.

I lead in weekly hymn sings at several institutions. For the past four years Bill*, who has a horribly disfigured face due to a congenital birth defect attends these hymn sings. His condition is called Sturge-Weber's syndrome, named for the two doctors who discovered this disfiguring disease. His face is so deformed that he deals with people who point fingers and stare at him in revulsion when he is in public settings.

After the hymn sing I always talk to him, along with the other residents, but the most unusual thing occurred last week. When I looked out at the circle of people gathered there were two of these men with Sturge-Weber's syndrome sitting next to each other. In fact I couldn't tell which one of the men was Bill, whom I'd been greeting for years. After the meeting I talked with them both face to face and still had difficulty telling them apart.

I talked to a worker afterwards inquiring about the new resident and commented on how he looked just like Bill. She told me how rare it was to have two men with the same condition in such a close geographical area. I inquired about the ages of the men since I couldn't even guess at Bill's age due to his disfigured face, though I'd wondered over the years. She looked at his records and told me he was born in 1955. Out of curiosity I asked her the exact date since 1955 was my year of birth. She told me his birth date was Oct. 21 which really got my attention. This man was born the very same day as I was! (The other man was 20 years younger though you couldn't tell the difference by sight.)

This conversation with the worker and my visit with the men sitting side by side caused a lot of introspection on my part. Why was I born with a "normal" body and given the opportunity to live a typical life that the majority of us enjoy? Yet Bill, born on the very same day, would be born with such abnormality, that his mother would choose to keep him hidden from view for many years.

I realize Brooksyne's message leaves us hanging. Her question just can’t be answered. Only God knows. And so often we just need to leave it there lest we become overly simplistic like the disciples who confronting a man born blind asked the Lord, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2). Apparently the dominant theological assumption at that time was it was either one or the other.

But Jesus answered their question, "this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." In this case the "work of God" resulted in his healing. But God is always working on behalf of those who trust in Him. As a great old hymn states, "they who trust Him fully, find Him wholly true."

Now this gets tough but as we were sharing about this experience our daughter Ester (who has also met Bill) asked why he was the way he is; why did God let it happen. Doesn't God love Bill too?

So often in life we want simple explanations to complex issues. Some of you reading this are going through a very difficult situation. Why, we wonder, would a loving God ever allow this to happen to me? I have several situations on my heart as I type this that I know fellow brothers and sisters are dealing with.

What I want to consider today is our blessings and sometimes it takes the perspective that encountering people like Bill can bring. God desires to display His work in each of our lives. There are no second stingers in God's family. He wants to use each of us to bring Him glory. I've never met Bill, but I understand he is receptive to the Gospel truths Brooksyne shares and we can be assured on the authority of the Word that God does love him. We'll have to wait till the other side to understand.

Be encouraged today,

Stephen C. Weber

Additional note from Brooksyne: *Bill is a fictional name used for privacy reasons. He is the first person I have ever met personally who was born on the same day and year as I. He is thought to be the oldest person living with this disorder. (Many of you are familiar with Christian songwriter Rich Mullins who was killed in a car accident years ago. He also shared this birth date.)

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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; and the King James Version.

Personal Mission Statement: “I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God’s Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life’s goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity.”

"Living today anchored in God’s solid foundation"