IN WEAKNESS,
STRENGTH BY REV. ERIK ROTTMANN
For my son Adam, who daily homeschools me in subjects that truly matter. 10
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P
erhaps our children with special needs are not always at a disadvantage. Perhaps their mental, neurological, and even physical limitations place them at some advantage over their peers, at least when it comes to matters of the Christian faith. Jesus turns weakness into strength. I intend here to speak hope and consolation into the battle-scarred precincts of your home or classroom.
CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS FACE NO DISADVANTAGE IN SPIRITUAL MATTERS In science, math, language, and physical coordination, our children with autism or other special needs may indeed struggle more than their peers. Reading comprehension, writing, or the abstractions of social understanding might take longer to grasp for children with special needs, but by the Holy Spirit they can become Christian instantly by faith in the hearing of the Word: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Jesus "regardest not the person of men" (Matthew 22:16), as the King James Version so beautifully words this truth. The object of our faith is Jesus Christ, the living Word of God made flesh (John 1:1, Philippians 2:6-7). "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases" (Matthew 8:17). Jesus does not need us to overcome our limitations in order to believe. Jesus overcomes our limitations so that we may believe. No disability of any sort—blindness (John 9:1-7), deafness (Mark 7:31-34), paralysis (Luke 5:17-26), or any other affliction (Matthew 4:24)—places anyone at a disadvantage when it comes to being Christian. God gives understanding (Psalm 119:169). The Lord gives faith (John 1:12-13). Faith is a divine miracle. In faith we all have weakness because we were all dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13). But God "made us alive together with Christ" (Ephesians 2:5). The same health, learning, or behavioral conditions that place our sons and daughters with special needs at a disadvantage in almost every area of life might prove advantageous for their faith. They daily feel in their bodies and their minds the effects of living in a fallen, sinful world. They viscerally understand weakness. They routinely experience the thoughts and emotions that weakness engenders: jealousy, rage, sorrow, despair, grief, The Reverend Erik Rottmann, husband of Kelly and homeschooling father of three sons, has written and contributed to numerous books for children and adults. He dedicates this article to his youngest son Adam, who has autism. The family lives near the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri.
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