Being One in Christ (#270 of 365+)

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27)

Last night after I’d had some time to relax from a day of stress I
finally settled down with my netbook and browsed some of my favorite sites. When I got to the Joni and Friends Television Series website I realized that I hadn’t visited there recently so I started searching for recent episodes. I found a two-part series about autism which really piqued my interest.

Watch them:

Making Sense of Autism: Part 1
Making Sense of Autism: Part 2

My sister has suffered from autism all her life. During early childhood she had to be admitted to a mental institution for a little while because she was causing herself physical harm. She’s six years older than I am, so I’ve known for as long as I can remember that I’d eventually become my sister’s guardian. Dad died several years ago and Mom is aging quickly due in large part to being the sole caregiver of an adult daughter who has a mental illness that is difficult to handle even on her best days. I know it won’t be much longer until the full weight of this responsibility rests upon my shoulders.

So Joni’s autism series didn’t surprise me with any new facts about the signs and symptoms, early treatment, or the misconceptions and myths that are out there. And I could totally relate to the heartbreaking stories about how autism disrupts and devastates a marriage or a family. Parental caregivers will often go for years without support from any outside source—including from their local church. The Church, the Body of Christ, has failed time after time in meeting their obligation to love, accept, and minister to these specific types of hurting families.

Autism is a mystery that doctors and scientists are still trying to figure out. A person with autism, like my sister, tends to make sudden strange noises or motions at the most inappropriate times. Like in the middle of a worship service! They’re extremely intelligent and can be taught many things, so this sort of behavior has nothing to do with a lack of intelligence. As the series pointed out, it also doesn’t signify that there is a disciplinary problem. These individuals simply react to and interact with their environment in a different way than most of us would.

I must acknowledge that just because a church isn’t aware of, or isn’t reaching out to or meeting the needs of families with autistic children, does not mean they’re doing it intentionally. Sometimes all it takes for a positive change to take place is a little education. But may God help the church that goes out of their way to make a parent, a sibling, or the autistic individual feel they’re less important to the Body. This has happened to my mother and I more times than I could count using all my fingers and toes.

When I saw this morning’s verse was taken from the same chapter as the verses mentioned in the autism series I felt the Lord was further solidifying what he had firmly planted in my heart last night.

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (1 Corinthians 12:21-26)

As the series taught me, those who suffer from autism only “seem to be weaker” but they’re actually “indispensable.” We’re wrong if we “think” they’re not worthy of honor, or they should be kept hidden in a back room out of sight! God says people like that deserve special attention and we can learn a lot from them. The Body of Christ in general has fallen far short of the Great Commission Jesus Christ gave: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15). So what part of “all” do we still not understand?

Individuals and families dealing with autism need to be saved and become part of the Body of Christ, too.

Father, thank you for providing me with the training wheels of autism. May I be willing to humble myself and ask for help from the Church if I need it. Give me the grace to help those in need even when it requires a sacrifice on my part. Help others to see the Treasure in this little jar of clay. Amen.