Grace for the Crippled

And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace and be whole of thy plague.

Mark 5:34 KJV

Consider this humbling thought. An honest evaluation of our lives reveals we have very little control over the script. We did not choose the day of our birth, neither will we choose the time of our death. The color of our eyes and hair as well as our body type was thrust upon us at birth with no consideration of our input. We didn’t go shopping for our parents nor siblings. Whether we were born with a silver spoon in our mouth or a rusty folk in our ear didn’t come up for a vote. We all desire a long and productive career on life’s stage but that is not always the will of God. A long life is not always a full life. We simply opened our eyes and the spotlight of life hit us squarely between the eyes as in the case of this Old Testament character.

Mephibosheth was dropped as a small child and consequently became crippled in both feet. Born in the house of Saul, he was completely reliant on his family’s help to survive. When David came to the throne, the house of Saul ran for the hills, all except Mephibosheth. He who had no choice but to await death. But death was not in the script for this man. After David called for anyone left in the court of Saul to appear, Mephibosheth hobbled into the throne room. He fell on his face only to be lifted and made to sit at King David’s table the rest of his life. The name Mephibosheth means to break to pieces with shame and regret. He continued to limp for the rest of his life but thanks to David’s mercy he no longer feared calamity. This man’s life was instantly changed by the kindness of God through David. Apparently, the stage of heaven is handicapped accessible.

The question is not if we will suffer, but how much and in what way. None of us like life-altering times but God is still at work. To the question of pain, no answer fully satisfies in this lifetime. The best we can do is carefully collect some comforting thoughts until we stand before the Lord in that glorious day. And so, with that disclaimer in place we proceed in life on the premise that some elements of our story must wait until the final curtain call. The severe tragedies and deep heartaches of this life will be fully redeemed when our stories move to heaven. The spotlight can be hot and blinding causing us to wonder if we are deserted on the stage, but we are not alone; we have never been alone. It is not until we are walking out of this life and into the next that we will realize that God does all things well.

Our lives are not finished until God decrees it be so and he is working all things for our good and his glory regardless of our perspective. There is purpose even in our darkest times. The sorrow of Peter after his denial was replaced with the joy of a personal visit with the resurrected Christ. The woman with the issue of blood was suddenly healed by Jesus. The pain Jairus experienced at the death of his daughter was replaced by joy when Jesus raised her back to life. God knows what He is doing, and our opera is not over until the fat lady sings and the curtain drops. All of life changes when we know Christ.