Who Cares?

The BBC's report into a care home near Bristol has 'horrified' and 'sickened' people across the country. Even those paid as 'specialist' carers for people with disabilities have, in this case, failed abysmally. Hopefully, this will be a wake-up call to people across the country to reach out with more love and support for the huge but largely disregarded section of our society. Thankfully the church has led the way in its support of people having disabilities, but I want to ask if we could do any more. And by we, I mean you and me!

In an age where there are loop sound systems in church for the hard of hearing, ramps for those in wheel-chairs and large-print Bibles for those who have weak sight, the local church may think it is accommodating people with disabilities more than ever. However, considerations for the emotional, social and spiritual well-being of such people are often few and far between. What’s more, even within the ‘family of God’ people with disabilities can feel like distant relatives. To address these issues, the church must start with a Biblical theology of disability.

Let’s start with the four part framework of Biblical history: Creation, Fall, Redemption and Consummation. The beginning of the Bible gives crucial information about humans. The first chapter speaks of the loving order and detail of God’s design. Yet it is humanity that is raised above everything else – created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Image is not just how we look or what we can do and achieve. God’s image in humans means the being and nature of God himself is what we intrinsically are by creation. And no one is excluded.

So how can we respond to God’s image in people with disabilities? We must treat them with wonder, respect, empathy and protection. Why? Because each one mysteriously reflects the God-head. It is only in Him that the dignity of humanity is found, since humans depend upon him for their ultimate meaning and purpose (Jeremiah 10:23). And creation in God’s image implies loving communion, since God existed in Trinity. Therefore, part of being human is being known and loved by God first and also by others.

The Bible makes it clear that loving others honours God. The commandments are tightly tied together (Mark 12:29-31). ‘Loving your neighbour’ allows no distinctions because God makes no distinctions (Proverbs 22:2).

As a result of Adam’s fall (Genensis 3), death and decay are part and parcel of this world. The first genealogy in the Bible emphasises this: “and he died...” No can escape death, since every human is like dust – utterly frail and finite.

The book of Ecclesiastes makes it clear that the lives of the most physically fit and intellectually brilliant have no more value in essence than the disease-wracked or mentally disabled. Both can only receive meaning through the Redemption offered in Christ Jesus. Are we willing to give everyone the opportunity to encounter this message of hope?