A Statement of Faith
by Penny Richards
I am the parent of a child with severe and multiple disabilities. God is essentially the parent of six billion children with severe and multiple disabilities. We, God's human children, will never have more than a very limited understanding of our Father's universe. We will always have weak, unruly bodies and behavior problems that defeat our best intentions. We
don't even recognize our Creator or comprehend His words. We need God's constant, individualized care and guidance, or we will harm ourselves and others.
Nonetheless, God in His grace is infinitely patient and generous with each of us. But why should He invest so much energy in any of us? We aren't going to get much smarter, much stronger, much better behaved--we might seem like hopeless creatures, in the big picture. Aren't we a waste of His time?
Jake reminds me every day what my answer to this question is: God loves us because we are His, and because no human scales of intelligence, strength, morality, or accomplishment can measure the worth God sees in each of His children. This is the message Jesus taught us in the parable of the Prodigal Son. We are loved much more than we can understand, much more than we appear to deserve, just because we are God's.
How can we respond to this incomprehensible love? Imperfectly, of course, but with gratitude--with joy--together doing God's work as we are instructed by scriptures and inspired by the Holy Spirit. Our best attempts, no matter how artless, must surely please God--ask any human parent who has waited for a "hopeless" child to respond.
