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Seeing Invisible Disabilities

Article is the Foreword in the Booklet Not By Sight  

Article Appeared in the MOODY Magazine

Issue: August/September 2001 Issue

 

Seeing Invisible Disabilities

 

Doug and his wife, Rebecca

 

Written By 

Douglas R. Groothuis, Ph.D.

Theologian, Professor, Author & Speaker.

Published with Permission

 Copyright © 2001

 

COPYRIGHT REGULATIONS: Dr. Groothuis graciously has given permission for our readers to print this article for your personal use, as long as all credits remain in tact. If you would like to distribute it to more than 10 people or publish it in any way (newsletter, website, magazine) you must request permission first! E-Mail requests to: editor@whereisgod.net 

 

esus had a way of seeing what others missed and ministering to those who were forgotten, shunned, or misunderstood. He touched and healed lepers when everyone else scurried away. He cared for those with chronic afflictions - such as congenital blindness and incurable hemorrhage - while others gave up. He bestowed hope where others scattered the ashes of despair. He was love Incarnate (John 1:14; 1 John 4:16). We need that character of divine love if we’re to see and minister to the hurts of others.

America has made strides in recognizing and assisting people with disabilities. Most public facilities are now accessible to the handicapped. The pool where I swim has a lift for the disabled. The law rightly forbids discriminating against the handicapped (see Lev. 19:14, Deut. 27:18, Matt. 25:40).

In the Christian community, Joni Eareckson Tada has raised people’s awareness of the needs of those who suffer from severe disabilities. She has encouraged the afflicted not to despair, but to trust God to use their broken lives for the glory of God and the good of others.

Still, many disabled people continue to suffer both chronic physical distress and misunderstanding. Their suffering is masked by a healthy appearance. They are not in wheelchairs and do not use canes. Yet their pain and debility is real and chronic. They have "invisible disabilities."

It may be the soul-sapping fatigue, environmental sensitivity, and chronic pain of fibromyalgia, or lupus, or Lyme disease, or multiple sclerosis. These souls suffer not only from their diseases, but also often from the uninformed and hurtful reactions of others.

Those suffering from fibromyalgia, such as my wife, often ricochet from one physician to another, repeatedly encountering the impatience and defeatism that often characterize the medical community's attitude toward those whose ailments are intractable, invisible, and (usually) non-terminal. Insurance routinely refuses to cover needed treatments. Worse yet, loved ones frequently do not understand the nature of their invisible disability and respond wrongly.

When someone looks healthy, we are tempted to tell them to "just buck up" and do what we think they should do. Those with invisible disabilities are often expected to do what is beyond them. We would never tell someone who uses a cane to run a marathon, but just going to the store may be a marathon for someone with lupus.

A seminary student of mine looks healthy, yet he suffers from such chronic and extreme back pain that he lost his medical practice. He also lost a friend who could not accept the limitations that chronic illness put on their relationship.

What can Christians do to discern people’s invisible disabilities and display the love of Christ?

First, we can empathize with them, instead of lecturing or ignoring them. The Book of Hebrews tells us to remember those in prison as though we were shackled with them (13:3). Similarly, we must try to put ourselves into the prison of the chronically ill person’s life. This is difficult, and almost nothing in our hedonistic culture encourages it. Nevertheless, we need empathy to be agents of love and encouragement. Jesus wept; so should we (John 11:35).

Second, we should listen to and believe what the afflicted tell us. My wife looks so healthy and fit that someone in the locker room where we swim thought she was a woman who’d been swimming at top speed for an hour. But if you listen to Rebecca’s story — one of pain and frustration mixed with faith and determination — you’ll find things quite different from how they appear.

Third, we can look for ways to minister to those we know with such conditions. Sherri Connell’s web site, The Invisible Disabilities Advocate, (www.InvisibleDisabilities.com) offers a wealth of materials. Sherri, who suffers from an invisible disability, has a big heart, an indomitable spirit, and much practical and spiritual advice.

Let us seek to have the eyes of Jesus, so we may look beyond appearances and gaze deeply into the lives of those who are suffering. Then we can offer them our love, understanding, and encouragement.

 

Dr. Douglas Groothuis

 

Dr. Groothuis is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary. He is the author of Truth Decay (InterVarsity Press), Unmasking the New Age, Deceived by the Light and many more. Visit Dr. Groothuis' Website 

 

© Copyright 2001. Dr. G has given permission for our readers to print this article for your personal use, as long as all credits remain in tact. If you would like to distribute it to more than 10 people or publish it in any way (newsletter, website, magazine) you must request permission first! E-Mail requests to: editor@whereisgod.net 

ORDER ONE OF DR. GROOTHUIS' BOOKS!

Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against Postmodernism

Description: The concept of truth as absolute, objective and universal has undergone serious deterioration in recent years. No longer is it a goal for all to pursue. Rather postmodernism sees truth as inseparable from culture, psychology, race and gender. Ultimately, truth is what we make it to be. What factors have accelerated this decay of truth? Why are people willing to embrace such a devalued concept? How does this new view compare and contrast with a Christian understanding?

More Info and Order Now!- Paperback

On Jesus 

Book Description: ON JESUS, like other titles in the Wadsworth Philosopher's Series, offers a concise, yet comprehensive, introduction to this philosopher's most important ideas. Presenting the most important insights of well over a hundred seminal philosophers in both the Eastern and Western traditions, the Wadsworth Philosophers Series contains volumes written by scholars noted for their excellence in teaching and for their well-versed comprehension of each featured philosopher's major works and contributions. These titles have proven valuable in a number of ways. Serving as standalone texts when tackling a philosophers' original sources or as helpful resources for focusing philosophy students' engagements with these philosopher's often conceptually daunting works, these titles have also gained extraordinary popularity with a lay readership and quite often serve as "refreshers" for philosophy instructors.

More Info and Order Now!- Paperback

UNMASKING THE NEW AGE

Ingram: Douglas Groothuis explains what the New Age movement is, analyzes its major doctrines, and shows how it is influencing politics, science, health care, and education.

More Info and Order Now!!- Paperback

 

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