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March 14, 2025 18 mins

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Understanding the complexities of disability within faith communities requires honest conversation and a rejection of pity. Exploring tough questions, like the presence of disabilities in heaven, prompts us to consider how we honor the worth and identity of those we serve. 

• The importance of hard conversations in faith contexts 
• Compassion as a critical element in disability ministry 
• Setting appropriate expectations for individuals with disabilities 
• In-depth discussion on whether disabilities will exist in heaven 
• Emphasizing identity beyond physical limitations and conditions 
• The need for continued dialogue and education in faith communities

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hi, my name is Tracy Correll and welcome to
Indispensable People.
I'm a wife, mom, teacher,pastor and missionary, and I
believe that every person shouldhave the opportunity to know
Christ, grow in Him and serveHim with the gifts that he has
given, no matter their ability.
Over 65 million Americans havea disability.
That's 25% of the population.

(00:26):
However, over 80% of them arenot inside the walls of our
church.
Let's dive into those hardtopics biblical foundations,
perceptions and world-changingideas.

(00:52):
Hey, welcome to this episode ofIndispensable People.
And we're talking about thehard questions.
And listen, if you're inministry of any kind a parent, a
caregiver, a friend, whateveryou are to someone else, there's
always hard questions, right,and I always say I need someone
in my life who will tell me whenmy zipper's down and there's

(01:15):
toilet paper stuck to my shoe orthere's something in my teeth,
right, you need the friend who'sgoing to say hey, listen,
you're kind of being a jerk, youneed to fix that or whatever it
might be in your life.
That's going on.
You need someone who will tellyou the truth, even if it hurts,
even if it's hard and even ifyou don't really want to hear it

(01:37):
.
And serving people withdisabilities is really no
different.
There are going to be hardmoments, hard questions,
difficult things that comeacross, and having people in
your life that will help you seethe answers or call you out
when necessary All of thosethings are very valuable people

(02:00):
in life.
So let me give you a littleexample.
Not a big deal at all, but I wasattending a women's event and
one of our ladies who happens tohave a disability was attending
as well, and they were sellingt-shirts and I'm going to say

(02:20):
this in the best, worst way tosay it because there's just no
great way to say it, but a lotof times people with
disabilities are pitied and thengiven anything they want.
It's not something I recommend.
I don't think that's how anyoneshould live.
Understanding and compassionshould always be at our

(02:42):
fingertips and available toshare.
Compassion should always be atour fingertips and available to
share, but pity means that we'relooking down on someone as less
than and sometimes giving themwhat they want, because we just
want them out of our way, andthat is not something that I
want to live on.
I don't want someone to treatme that way, and so we often say

(03:03):
this statement pity blockspurpose, but compassion leads to
understanding.
So I say that because there'snothing wrong with holding a
person with disabilities withsome expectations and, honestly,
you are showing that you seethat their life has value and

(03:24):
something to offer if you'reholding them to a certain set of
expectations and I'm not sayingunreachable expectations, but
so, anyway, in this situation,the individual with the
disability was asking to begiven a T-shirt, not to pay for
the T-shirt, and I had had aconversation with her earlier

(03:47):
and she was just telling me howshe was kind of having fun
shopping on one of the you knowthe cheaper online app kind of
things, and she had bought somethings and she was kind of
sharing she had bought a t-shirt, a gift for a pastor or
something like that, and so Ihad that history, had that
relationship with her.
We've had a conversation, andso I kind of went up to her and

(04:08):
reminded her like, hey, if youreally want one of these
t-shirts, that's fantastic andawesome.
Just save your money and you'llbe able to get it.
You know, maybe the next timethe ladies meet.
And she absolutely receivedthat and she's like, oh yeah, I
can do that and all good, right,no, no big deal.
However, on the other end, theperson who is responsible for

(04:29):
selling the T-shirts, um, kindof stopped, didn't know what to
say, didn't want to handle it.
And sometimes that comes fromwhether or not you have a
relationship with that person,because if you have a
relationship it's easier to saysomething to someone than if you
just kind of cold called,stepped in and were like sorry,
no, this is the situation.

(04:50):
Still OK to hold uphold someoneto some expectations and help
them understand why that is thecase.
So I say that to say kind ofwhere we're going is a little
bit of a different path.
But having things to say and torealize is going to help people

(05:13):
along the way.
Being able to tell them thetruth, help them to realize the
full intent or expectation orscripture or what God says about
their life, really matters,even when it's hard.
Why, well, you go back to earlychildhood and you think of a

(05:34):
child that's having a tantrum.
Right, they're having thetantrum because there was
something that they probablywanted and they did not get.
So they throw a fit so theycould get the thing.
So the likelihood of themthrowing another tantrum or
acting in that type of behavioris greater if the person gave in

(05:55):
and gave that child what theywanted.
And if we do that with peoplewith disabilities just because
we don't want to deal withwhatever situation they're
bringing to us or we're not surehow they're going to react or
handle themselves in that saidsituation, we're going to lose

(06:15):
out on helping that personprocess through and become more
of what God wants them to do.
Holding someone to expectationsays I love you enough to not
leave you where you're at.
And that's what God's saying toall of us.
He's saying we are all in aprocess and a progress and he

(06:38):
doesn't want to leave us wherewe're at.
And so we are to become morelike him, day after day after
day.
But in that process of figuringout what God is doing with our
lives and teaching us thosethings, people with disabilities
and those without disabilitiesare going to have some hard
questions to ask, and it is inour best interest to kind of be

(07:03):
prepared to be able to answerthose in truthful and honest
ways, so that we can continue togrow together, so that we can
continue to be discipled anddisciple others, so we can grow
into the gifts and talents thatGod has for us, so that we can
fulfill the plans that he askedfor our lives so that he may be

(07:27):
glorified, so that he may bemade known, so that others may
come to know him, and Imentioned in an earlier episode
that it is really hard to bewhat God intended you to be if
you don't accept it, and soanswering some of these really
hard questions becomes theanswer to the next step in

(07:48):
growth, and so I'm not going toanswer all the questions today.
I'm actually going to focus onone particular question, and
maybe we'll do some follow-uppodcast with some other
questions, but I want to giveyou some examples of some of the
hard questions that I've beenasked before.
If God made me perfect, then whydo I have a disability?

(08:10):
Why did God make me this way?
Did God make a mistake when hecreated me?
Does my disability change myworth in God's eyes Now?
Does God love me despite mydisability?
Will my disability be presentin heaven?
How can I use my disability toglorify God?

(08:32):
How can I reconcile thesuffering caused by my
disability with a loving God?
Today, I want to focus more timeon the discussion about will
there be disabilities in heaven,and I'm going to be perfectly
honest with you I don't have adirect answer to this and here

(08:53):
is why so kind of going back tothe episode where we were
talking about unmasking autismand we were talking about kind
of whether we're growing as aperson and we make changes and
accommodate for the expectationsof life, or is parts of the

(09:14):
autism actually part of ourpersonality and then meaning
that's part of who we are?
And this is where we don't havethe full picture, the full
answer in will there bedisabilities in heaven?
Well, first of all, we know thebasis of what scripture tells
us and, let me be honest, it'snot really a lot.

(09:35):
So, gotquestionsorg, we'regoing to start there, which is
your questions and biblicalanswers is kind of their tagline
.
It says the Bible does not sayexactly what we will look like
in heaven.
What age will we appear to be?
Will the texture of our hairstay the same?
Will we have the same eye color, the same fingerprints?

(09:55):
We can't answer any of thosequestions.
We do know that whatever wasassociated with our natural
perishable condition will beremoved no more pimples, pains,
no more cataracts, coughs orcancers, no more missing teeth,
lazy eye or hereditary defects.

(10:16):
It says that Jesus may stillbear his scars in heaven, but
ours will be gone.
So, first of all, let's go diveinto a few different scriptures
.
So we will have a body inheaven, heaven, and it will be
the same body.
Uh, we, we will have a body inheaven, but will it be the same

(10:40):
body that we have now?
So, um, we need to know thatGod redeems the whole person
body, soul and spirit.
But our resurrected body willbe heavenly, okay, which you
find in first Corinthians, 15,40, and it says there are
heavenly bodies and earthlybodies, but the glory of
heavenly is of one kind and theglory of earthly is of another.

(11:03):
And then so a lot will change,but we'll not lose our identity.
You will still be you is kindof what we're saying to that.
But also, philippians 3.21contains the promise that Jesus
will transform our lowly bodiesso that they will be like his

(11:24):
glorious body.
So this is what it says whowill transform our lowly body to
be like his glorious body bythe power that enables him even
to subject all things to himself.
Okay, so after his resurrection,jesus was recognizable for who
he was, except when Godprevented people from seeing him

(11:46):
.
He had his hand.
Luke 24, 39 says that he hadhis hands and feet.
The scripture says see my handsand feet, that it is myself,
touch me and see.
For a spirit does not haveflesh and bones, as you see that
I have.
He also ate food.
So Luke 24, 42 says they gavehim a piece of a broiled fish.

(12:09):
His body was transformed, butit was still his body.
The same will hold true for usin the resurrection.
But also we know that ournatural bodies are associated
with the word dishonor and wecan find that in 1 Corinthians
15, 43.
And it says it is sown indishonor.
It is raised in glory.

(12:30):
It is sown in weakness.
It is raised in power.
Dishonor, it is raised in glory.
It is sown in weakness.
It is raised in power.
And it's because our bodiessustain damage.
They scab and they scar, theylose function and eventually
they decay and die.
So they bear some sort of marksof sin and sometimes our bodies
are damaged to our own personalsin and other.

(12:50):
It's damaged by the Mars andsin of others.
But everyone grows old and theyou know that takes a toll on
our bodies.
But God, through Christtransforming power, is able to
raise up his children with new,glorious bodies.
And when Jesus healed the manwith the shriveled hand, his

(13:12):
hand was completely restored.
So that comes from Luke,chapter six, verse 10.
And it says and after lookingaround at them, all he said to
them was stretch out your hand.
And he did so and his hand wasrestored.
So here's the thing he wasrecognizable.
Yet it's saying without thosescars and those sins.

(13:36):
So who you are without that, whoyou are without those physical
things, you will be recognizablefor who you are.
Does that tell us what you'regoing to take with you and what
you're going to carry with you?
Does it say whether or not aperson who has a stutter will
have a stutter?
Does it say that you, you knowif you're blind, if you're all

(13:59):
that thing?
I think we can believe thatthose things, those physical
things, those changes to ourbodies based on the physicality
of them, those things change.
But it's basically saying whoyou are to the core will still

(14:21):
be recognizable.
So Jesus was recognizedregardless, and so will we.
And whether that means you know, I think of you know those who
have kind of a comedic approachin their personality, if they
have a kindness, a sweetness tothem, someone who's overzealous,

(14:44):
you know all that kind of stuff.
In the end, we don't knowexactly what it will look like.
The Bible doesn't tell usexactly what that's going to be
like, but in all honesty, itsays that we'll be recognizable,
which means we'll berecognizable to others, that
they will be reunited withothers, and, at the same thing,

(15:04):
there is concern for others thatsay, well, if that's gone and
that's a piece and part of them,how does that change their

(15:26):
interaction and who they are?
Um, but I think of it as asimilar situation, as you know,
maybe a trauma or an occurrencein in your life right when, um,

(16:01):
you have that experience and itshapes and changes who you are
and what you do, but it isn'twho you are.
And that's the same thing with,I feel and this is a developing
thought, but I is the.
You know, the sensory thingsand the preferences that they
have that shapes them, thosethings shape them, but it is not

(16:25):
who they are.
So, will your disability gowith you to heaven?
I think we'll go exactly withwhat the scripture says, and
that says that you'll beidentifiable, but your core of
who you are and what you dobecause of that disability may

(16:47):
be a part of what isrecognizable, but it's not the
physicality, because scripturetells us that we'll be
completely restored.
So, instead of fully knowingthe answer to will our
disabilities go with us inheaven, I think we can hold on
to this truth and that firstCorinthians, 15, 40, which is

(17:11):
where we started says that ourresurrected body will be
heavenly, imperishable,glorified, spiritual, immortal
and bearing Christ's image.
So a lot will change, but wewill not lose our identity.
You will still be you and,honestly, when we receive the

(17:33):
blessed hope and we have thatplace in perfection, I don't
think we'll really be worriedabout all those other parts and
pieces.
We'll know that a sovereign Godhas orchestrated it all and has
the perfect place that he's setout for us in advance.
I don't think we'll be botheredby who and how he changed to do

(17:55):
it.
Do I know everything aboutdisability ministry?
Do I have all the answers?
Have I done everythingperfectly?
I have absolutely not, but weare going to continue this
conversation so that people ofall abilities can have the
opportunity to know Christ, growin Him and serve Him with the
gifts that he has given them.

(18:16):
For deeper dives into thesetopics and more, check out
indispensablepeoplecom and visitAmazon to purchase the books
the Indispensable Kid and Gospel.
Accessibility and theIndispensable People.
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