When Jesus and His disciples come upon a blind man in John chapter 9,
his disciples ask Jesus who had sinned to cause this man to be born
disabled. They wanted to know if it was the man’s or his parents’ sin
that made him blind. But Jesus’ response is surprising and profound.
Jesus tells His disciples — and us — that a disability is not the result of someone’s sin; rather, it is an opportunity for God's work to be revealed.
According to the United Nations, roughly 15 percent of the world’s population — an estimated one billion people — live with some sort of disability, and nearly 80 percent of them live in the developing world. That means that the world is overflowing with opportunities for God’s work to be revealed.
Across the globe, people with disabilities face increased levels of discrimination and decreased levels of education and employment, but our missionaries have seized this as an opportunity to share Christ’s love. From a ministry to disabled refugees who have fled the war in eastern Ukraine to a school for disabled children in South Africa, God is revealing His love in amazingly beautiful ways.
As you read through this issue of
Message, I hope you will be inspired by the way God takes what seems to
be broken and uses it for His glory, and I pray that God will also work
in each of our areas of brokenness to reveal Himself.