Posts
Dearest Cousins:
[As I write this, I want you guys first to know a few things. First I want you to know that I write out of my WEAKNESS; the things I share are lessons I am still learning. Those of you who joined us for the trip to the Grand Canyon know that I felt (& feel) least worthy of having organized & led the trip. Second, I want it to be clear that I don't write as if I was the person who most cared for Ian during our trip; Anna & Austin worked hardest by far to care him.]
It's not easy taking care of our cousin Ian, is it?
Why not just come out & say it? He doesn't like to bathe. He doesn't appreciate a lot of the things I enjoy doing (like playing group games or exercising). He gets "stuck" on certain things that I just don't understand (coins, travel brochures) & can throw tantrums when he doesn't get his way. Having him around keeps me from being able to do some things I otherwise would like to do. Caring for him adds extra, tangible burden to my life's plans.
"BLESSED IS IAN..."
What I've been learning in the last few years, though, is that God's economy isn't much like the world's economy. Our Lord Jesus' very life & death attest to that fact. He flips upside-down our innate value systems, perhaps best stated in His words from the mountain:
"Blessed are the poor... Blessed are those who mourn... Blessed are the meek... Blessed are those who hunger & thirst... Blessed are the merciful... Blessed are the pure in heart... Blessed are the peacemakers... Blessed are those who are persecuted..." (Matthew 5:1-12).
If Jesus is among us now in Spirit, does He not add, "Blessed is Ian"? (I'll tell you what I mean in a minute...)
I look at the list of what Jesus tells us signifies blessing, & I say to myself, "What??!!! Aren't these things typically the very things we try to AVOID?"
Perhaps my strong reaction is because of how Jesus challenges my own life, my own values. "What does that mean about ME? Am I blessed?"
Yes, dear cousins, I AM blessed... but how? My health? My being American/Canadian? My degree? My getting to live in a beautiful place? My Taiwanese heritage? My ability to communicate? My medical degree? A lot of people certainly have encouraged me to think that these are blessings... so are they right?
Maybe. It isn't that I'm not thankful for each or that they haven't benefited me. Each has helped me in one way or another. But if I recognize them to be something they're not (as if they make me more valuable or lovable), or if I don't let them "die" & then disciple them to be used for God's kingdom (Luke 9:23), they can end up... well, damning.
When I was in a position to preach & teach in churches (not now), I had the sneaking suspicion that some people would pay attention only because I was a doctor, a so-called "upstanding member of society." So did my being a doctor help people to hear the Gospel? I'd have to say "perhaps," if they saw me as someone wholly submitted to Jesus, who happened to live that out in the vocation of medicine. More often, I'm very afraid, my being a doctor might have instead distracted from the Gospel message. Would these people have listened more, or less, carefully if Jesus Himself was speaking? Isaiah 53:2 tells us of Jesus, "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." Was I speaking from a life totally discipled to Christ, following in His willingness for self-sacrifice? Jesus spoke to many & was murdered on the cross!
So then, who's more blessed: Ian or I? I honestly don't have the answer to that, because I know God has greatly blessed me in saving my life from sin.
But I do know that Ian is remarkably blessed. He comes before God with only child-like faith (just as we can, if we're humble enough to recognize it). Ian must rely on the help of others (just as we must, when we're humble enough to realize it). He trusts implicitly that his needs (which he cannot meet on his own) will be met (just as we are called to in humility).
To be sure, Ian has a few needs we don't have. He can't safely go around a new area on his own. He needs reminders to keep himself clean. He might make some people uncomfortable at parties.
But he also has the ability to teach us, in ways we cannot teach ourselves, how to live a simple life. To learn from him, we must humble ourselves just as the pious Pharisees & powerful Roman soldiers needed to if they wanted to learn from the lowly carpenter's son Jesus (Matthew 23:12). Ian, too, teaches us from his blessedness.
We can be blessed by Ian not only by learning from him, but also in caring for him. When we care for Ian, we learn to serve Jesus in ways we could not otherwise learn. When I read Matthew 25:31-46, I am challenged to serve Jesus among "the least of these brothers of mine," & it involves remembering that these "least" are in fact the ones Jesus calls MOST blessed.
When we get our new glorified bodies on the other side of eternity, & the curse of autism (oh yes it is a curse; because of Redemption God simply forces it to become a blessing for His children; Romans 8:28) is lifted from Ian's being, perhaps he'll be able to articulate all the things we'll have yet to learn. And together, along with the rest of our family, may we cry out together, "Yes Jesus, You had it right all along. Thank You for blessing us in ways You knew were best for us, in ways we ourselves would never have imagined."
And thank you, Ian.
God's grace is too awesome for words, isn't it, Dear Cousins?
Love,
Stephen
PS: Again, I'm sorry for taking so long to write.
[As I write this, I want you guys first to know a few things. First I want you to know that I write out of my WEAKNESS; the things I share are lessons I am still learning. Those of you who joined us for the trip to the Grand Canyon know that I felt (& feel) least worthy of having organized & led the trip. Second, I want it to be clear that I don't write as if I was the person who most cared for Ian during our trip; Anna & Austin worked hardest by far to care him.]
It's not easy taking care of our cousin Ian, is it?
Why not just come out & say it? He doesn't like to bathe. He doesn't appreciate a lot of the things I enjoy doing (like playing group games or exercising). He gets "stuck" on certain things that I just don't understand (coins, travel brochures) & can throw tantrums when he doesn't get his way. Having him around keeps me from being able to do some things I otherwise would like to do. Caring for him adds extra, tangible burden to my life's plans.
"BLESSED IS IAN..."
What I've been learning in the last few years, though, is that God's economy isn't much like the world's economy. Our Lord Jesus' very life & death attest to that fact. He flips upside-down our innate value systems, perhaps best stated in His words from the mountain:
"Blessed are the poor... Blessed are those who mourn... Blessed are the meek... Blessed are those who hunger & thirst... Blessed are the merciful... Blessed are the pure in heart... Blessed are the peacemakers... Blessed are those who are persecuted..." (Matthew 5:1-12).
If Jesus is among us now in Spirit, does He not add, "Blessed is Ian"? (I'll tell you what I mean in a minute...)
I look at the list of what Jesus tells us signifies blessing, & I say to myself, "What??!!! Aren't these things typically the very things we try to AVOID?"
Perhaps my strong reaction is because of how Jesus challenges my own life, my own values. "What does that mean about ME? Am I blessed?"
Yes, dear cousins, I AM blessed... but how? My health? My being American/Canadian? My degree? My getting to live in a beautiful place? My Taiwanese heritage? My ability to communicate? My medical degree? A lot of people certainly have encouraged me to think that these are blessings... so are they right?
Maybe. It isn't that I'm not thankful for each or that they haven't benefited me. Each has helped me in one way or another. But if I recognize them to be something they're not (as if they make me more valuable or lovable), or if I don't let them "die" & then disciple them to be used for God's kingdom (Luke 9:23), they can end up... well, damning.
When I was in a position to preach & teach in churches (not now), I had the sneaking suspicion that some people would pay attention only because I was a doctor, a so-called "upstanding member of society." So did my being a doctor help people to hear the Gospel? I'd have to say "perhaps," if they saw me as someone wholly submitted to Jesus, who happened to live that out in the vocation of medicine. More often, I'm very afraid, my being a doctor might have instead distracted from the Gospel message. Would these people have listened more, or less, carefully if Jesus Himself was speaking? Isaiah 53:2 tells us of Jesus, "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." Was I speaking from a life totally discipled to Christ, following in His willingness for self-sacrifice? Jesus spoke to many & was murdered on the cross!
So then, who's more blessed: Ian or I? I honestly don't have the answer to that, because I know God has greatly blessed me in saving my life from sin.
But I do know that Ian is remarkably blessed. He comes before God with only child-like faith (just as we can, if we're humble enough to recognize it). Ian must rely on the help of others (just as we must, when we're humble enough to realize it). He trusts implicitly that his needs (which he cannot meet on his own) will be met (just as we are called to in humility).
To be sure, Ian has a few needs we don't have. He can't safely go around a new area on his own. He needs reminders to keep himself clean. He might make some people uncomfortable at parties.
But he also has the ability to teach us, in ways we cannot teach ourselves, how to live a simple life. To learn from him, we must humble ourselves just as the pious Pharisees & powerful Roman soldiers needed to if they wanted to learn from the lowly carpenter's son Jesus (Matthew 23:12). Ian, too, teaches us from his blessedness.
We can be blessed by Ian not only by learning from him, but also in caring for him. When we care for Ian, we learn to serve Jesus in ways we could not otherwise learn. When I read Matthew 25:31-46, I am challenged to serve Jesus among "the least of these brothers of mine," & it involves remembering that these "least" are in fact the ones Jesus calls MOST blessed.
When we get our new glorified bodies on the other side of eternity, & the curse of autism (oh yes it is a curse; because of Redemption God simply forces it to become a blessing for His children; Romans 8:28) is lifted from Ian's being, perhaps he'll be able to articulate all the things we'll have yet to learn. And together, along with the rest of our family, may we cry out together, "Yes Jesus, You had it right all along. Thank You for blessing us in ways You knew were best for us, in ways we ourselves would never have imagined."
And thank you, Ian.
God's grace is too awesome for words, isn't it, Dear Cousins?
Love,
Stephen
PS: Again, I'm sorry for taking so long to write.
