Biblical View of Disability

All people are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Because of the original sin of our federal head, Adam, every aspect of creation is subject to frustration (Romans 8:20). Every person experiences a mixture of “the blessedness of creation and the brokenness of the fall. . . . Disability is essentially a more noticeable form of the brokenness that is common to the human experience—a normal part of life in an abnormal world” (Hubach, Same Lake, Different Boat, 30-31).

People who have disabilities are not objects to be pitied, problems to be fixed, or people to be ignored. In God’s perfect plan, they are valued, accepted, and loved. Because our lives are intertwined, we should see God’s love for people with disabilities reflected in our churches, in our homes, and in our hearts.

God’s Sovereignty in Disability

It is natural to inquire about God’s sovereignty in disability and in all of life. The authors of the Heidelberg Catechism address this well (HC Q&A 27).

  1. What do you understand by the providence of God?
  2. The almighty and ever-present power of God (Jer. 23:23-24; Acts 17:24-28) by which God upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures (Heb. 1:3), and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty (Jer. 5:24; Acts 14:15-17; John 9:3; Prov. 22:2.)—all things, in fact, come to us not by chance (Prov. 16:33.) but by his fatherly hand (Matt. 10:29).

The Heidelberg Catechism reminds us that all things come to us not by chance, but by the loving hand of our sovereign God. It is often easier to recognize God’s goodness in seasons of abundance than in seasons marked by suffering or disability. However, Scripture assures us that even the most difficult or painful providences are not outside his redemptive purposes. Trusting God in hardship may stretch our faith, but God’s character does not change. He remains good, present, and worthy of our trust, even when his ways are difficult to understand.

Miracles

We recognize that there is disagreement among Christians surrounding the occurrence of miracles. Should we ordinarily expect miracles to occur today? Should we expect miraculous healing from illness or disability?

We believe that the miracles of the Bible clearly served as acts of redemption or as signs to authenticate revelation. The greatest miracle of all is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This redemptive miracle was then authenticated by the miracles of the apostles. Those miracles served as foundation-laying events (Ephesians 2:20) that ended with the last apostle, Paul (1 Corinthians 15:8). Now we are “to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

God is free to act in any way he chooses, and at times he does heal directly through extraordinary acts of providence. However, we do not believe that healing from disabilities is something we should expect to happen.

Disability and the Resurrection (Heaven)

We know from Scripture that unless Christ returns first (1 Thessalonians 4:16), when we take our last breath in this life, we will be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). As wonderful as that will be, we will still be awaiting Christ’s return and the promise of our resurrected bodies.

Scripture does not tell us exactly what our bodies will be like in the resurrection. Will we be young or old? Will our visible traits remain or appear differently? Will the disability that has been such a significant part of who I am continue in the resurrection? We simply do not have answers to questions like these.

We do know that we will all be changed (1 Corinthians 15:52) and that the Lord “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). We can be certain that anything labeled “a disability” in this life will not be disabling in heaven or in the resurrection.

Church and Disability

According to 1 Corinthians 12:22-23, children, teens, and adults with disabilities are an indispensable and vital part of the church. “People with disabilities are essential to the body of Christ; without them, the body is not complete and cannot operate as God designed. Without the complete body of Christ, we cannot fully understand who God is and who we are meant to be” (Belknap, “How Disability is Indispensable”).

People impacted by disability are created by God and made in his image. Just as everyone else who believes in the gospel of Jesus Christ, their lives have the same meaning and purpose: to glorify God and enjoy him forever. The call to churches is to change their view from being ministry to individuals impacted by disability to ministry with friends fully embraced in our church settings.