A Lesson From Jeff

I do not know what Jeff's specific diagnosis would be.  I do know that when most of the world would consider him to be disabled, God sees the finely crafted tool He created for His purposes.  Jeff is a member of Christ Lutheran Church of Milford where Jon and I were members before transferring to Heart of the Shepherd.  I am not sure how our friendship began, but it was not long before it was established that if we were attending the same service, we would have the pleasure of sitting with Jeff.  Often we would walk in to the sanctuary to find Jeff had already opened our hymnals to the correct page and laid them out on our seats.

I can not tell you how many times Jeff's heartfelt worship brought tears to my eyes.  Though he can read without difficulty, occasionally a hymn will be too fast for him to keep up, but it does not prevent him from singing.  Jeff would always speak of how God is our shepherd and watches over us.  Often he would remind me of these simple truths at an appropriate moment when I most needed to hear it.  It seemed almost prophetic at times.  As Lutherans we believe in infant baptism and when Colette was born we had her baptized within a month.  I remember feeling some hesitations about whether it was the right time to have her baptized, but the morning of her baptism Jeff said to me, "Jesus said, 'Let the children come to me.'"  It was the perfect reminder that no moment is too soon to place your child in God's hands, giving back what He gave you.  I cried at how easy it was for Jeff to see and accept these very simple truths of God when my mind is so often confounded by what this world and my limited reasoning argues against.

One of the most common phrases Jeff says is, "God still loves us."  The word "still" touches my heart every time he says it.  Still.  Even when I turn my back on Him.  Still.  Even when I doubt Him.  Still.  Even when I sin.  Still.  The word is defined by Webster's Dictionary as "remaining in place or at rest; motionless."  Despite my actions, God's love does not move away from me; it rests on me.  How often I have needed that reminder so frequently delivered by my good friend, Jeff.

Thinking about Jeff always brings to mind a verse I love to contemplate; 2 Corinthians 12:9, "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."  The apostle Paul had some "thorn in his flesh" which brought him great torment that he had prayed God would remove.  That verse was the response he received to his prayer.  I do not view Jeff as weak.  I see him as someone truly empowered by the Gospel; a man with a strength of faith that I admire.  This world would view him differently.  He is seen as one with limited capabilities.  So often God chooses what this world writes off as weak to proclaim His power.  It was no coincidence that Jesus started off his life in a stable, the son of a mere carpenter and a woman of no noble background.

When I consider some of the great stories of the Bible, it often seems that God is not stepping in until the last minute- it seemed to the Israelites the only options they had were to drown or surrender to captivity to Pharaoh's army... until God parted the Red Sea, Daniel prayed to God and landed himself in the lion's den... before God declared Himself as His protector, Jesus slept on the boat while the disciples grew weak in the knees at the storm that surrounded them... before the waters were calmed, and the disciples huddled in fear for days, worrying that their fate would be the same that Christ suffered... when He finally rose from the dead and showed Himself to be the Messiah for which they waited.  Some may have wondered in those moments where God was.  Some of us may still wonder why He would have let things get so bad before He stepped in.  How often have we wondered at the weaknesses in our own life what God's waiting on before He takes them away?

What storm has raged in your life so much so that it seemed you had to wake this God from slumber before He came to rescue you?  And how many times did you ask, "Why a storm at all, God?"  Because His power is made perfect in our weakness.  If God never allowed the Israelites to be pressed up against the Red Sea, never allowed Daniel to be tossed to the lions, never allowed the storm the day Jesus slept, never allowed His Son to be crucified, who would declare His power and might?  If the Israelites had time to take a different route, they may have patted themselves on the back for their mapping skills.  If Daniel had never been caught praying, he may have rewarded himself for his stealth.  If the storm never came upon the disciples, they may have not even considered their "good fortune."  If Christ had not died, so many of us would not see the ugliness of our sin.  But these things happened so that we could see no other answer, no other way, but God.

Whatever it is you may be suffering, consider that God will soon be revealing His glory and power to you.  It is in our own weakness that we can boast of the power of Christ.  Imagine how the Israelites, Daniel, and the disciples faith soared after they were put through great suffering.  I doubt they would have asked those circumstances to change, for the strength of faith they gained.