This is a very tough subject for any Christian parent. It's not easily understood or accepted by those who love children. When any child is born with problems (of which there are many) we react with varying degrees of grief. Why my child? Why my friend's, relatives, or church families child? Why? Why? Why? Like I said, it's a very tough subject to address and even tougher to live with. Quite a few years ago I was faced with a decision regarding a child I am the father of. I had an affair that resulted in the pregnancy. The mother asked me if I wanted an abortion or not. This is where the justification process gets muddled. I was baffled that she would ask and even upset that the decision was mine to make. I chose life and don't regret that decision. I've been an advocate and supporter against abortion under all but a few reasons. Some use abortion as birth control. There are varying degrees of choices in between. The number of children born with less than perfect health has been the result of what? Was it the sin of the parents? Was it the water we drink, the drugs we took, the abuse we gave our bodies, or was it the punishment we had coming for whatever? Many of these questions are present in our minds and yet, what if none of them are true? The truth may be harder to swallow but here it is. Children are created by God and are to be for the glory of God. When we take our eyes off this we can't see the will of God or the blessing of these affected children.
It's not necessarily something we want to deal with but it's a reality we must deal with. Children are conceived by the parents through the hand of God. That child grows and is birthed and STILL is in the image of God just like you and I. The child brings with them the challenges that we, the parents, have to deal with, live with, and address for the glory of God. The challenges come in many forms. Parenting is not for the weak. Parenting isn't something to be taken lightly. Parenting our children doesn't stop when they are grown. Parenting is supposed to be a task that we do to help raise children for the glory of God. Many a disabled or deformed child has impacted people to the point where those people are convicted of the love of God and give their lives to Jesus. Here in the United States there are 1.6 million abortions a year while 1.4 adoption requests go unanswered. Here in the United States and elsewhere we are taught that we have the choice over our own bodies, over the bodies of our children and thus make ourselves god of our own world. Remember that if we make laws to make sin okay, we are still sinning. It's not a matter of our choice to do this or that with our children but rather to raise them to love God and bring glory to Him.
There will be heartache and pain when you are the parent of someone who is a challenge to raise. Don't let that be the result of selfishness. Should we really believe that God is in control and that his will is being worked out in our lives; we can then better see the situation from the eyes of God. Using his point of view instead of our own is essential for our Christian witness and the result brought about with the challenges of life. Feeling pity for yourself and others isn't an act a Christian should engage in. Feeling like life is unfair is also not something we should engage in. We are either living for God and believe that all things work for good for those who love the Lord or we simply don't believe. Being able to see the blessing in adverse situations is something I am not very good at. I've become better over the years but sometimes I succumb to the negative perspective about topics such as this one. Yet, I am given the choice to glorify God or not. It's your choice as well. What we do in this life creates or destroys life. It's always your choice.
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