I was discussing the issue of this ministry with one of my college professors from a previous Theology class. I pointed out Psalms 139:13-16 (I am not going to write it out for you, pick up your Bible and READ it!) and explained that if we view the special needs as having something “wrong” with them then we are in essence stating that God is prone to accidents. Not only that, but God is subject to make mistakes. Now, we know God does not experience accidents nor does He make mistakes. “Ooops”, is not in the vocabulary of God. What IS wrong with the special needs is how WE perceive them. They are different than the status quo thus, there must be something “wrong” with them. This could not be further from the truth. I would have hoped that you actually  picked up your Bible and read Psalms 139:13-16. If you had you would realize that even those with “special needs” are indeed perfect creations of God. My professor, a Godly man and a true Scotsman who walks closely with God and is much better trained than I am, posed the following statement that made me stop and think. “I wonder if our greatest handicap is not our fallen state. Running from this state of being fallen instead of embracing it (that we may come to know Christ intimately) may be the reason that we often times overlook our own deficits, and seeing the pronounced “deficits” in those with “special needs” take note of and highlight those deficits instead of our own.”

Wow! That is a mouthful of wisdom! I know that I would have come up with that if he had not beat me to it! Seriously though, there is a great deal to think about in that statement. Our society is one that laughs at the misfortune of others because it has highlighted the “deficits” of others to prevent them from recognizing their own. The sad fact is that the Church is much the same. Are the special needs really “special needs”? Are they really handicapped in God’s eyes? Who has the wrong perception? Is it society? Is it the Church? Is it God?

I believe that God has had it figured out for ages. He gives us the Word and the Holy Spirit that we may arrive at His solution, not necessarily our solution. That’s what we should all be striving for, God’s solution.

God’s blessings,

Lonnie Richardson