A Well-Watered Garden
My family vacationed in the Outer Banks for the first time this year. We enjoyed a beautiful week of sunshine at the beach. (If you haven’t been, I highly recommend going). Coming home after being away is my least favorite part of vacation. In an effort to make only one trip from the car to my front door, I hobbled five bags on each shoulder to the second floor of my apartment complex. Out of breath, I dropped my bags to the floor, scanned the living room, and noticed my droopy plants by the window. They gave me an unhappy stare like their mother had just left them for a week or something. (I try to refrain from becoming a weird plant lady, but my husband and I don’t have children yet, so the plants receive the innate mother in me).
Something you may not know about me is my strong and passionate dislike for unpacking. My husband, not so much. He comes home and immediately unpacks every bag—clothes in the laundry basket, snacks in the cabinets, and toothbrush in the bathroom drawer. When I come home from vacation, my philosophy is that my vacation isn’t over until I start working the next morning. So, I like to leave my bags and responsibilities in the corner until I find time to get to them during the week. This time around, watering my plants fell into that category and it wasn’t until a week later that I watered my thirsty plants.
Out of Obedience
In Isaiah 58, Isaiah writes to the Israelites about fasting. He encourages them to earnestly seek the Lord and to refrain from fasting in apathy.
Isaiah 58:7 says, “Is [fasting] not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”
In reference to this passage, John MacArthur wrote, “The people complained when God did not recognize their religious actions, but God responded that their fastings had only been half-hearted. Hypocritical fasting resulted in contention, quarreling, and pretense, excluding the possibility of genuine prayer to God. Fasting consisted of more than just an outward ritual and a mock repentance; it involved penitence over sin and consequent humility, disconnecting from sin and the oppression of others, feeding the hungry, and acting humanely toward those in need.” (John MacArthur Study Bible).
Sadly, people who have disabilities oftentimes reside among the poor groups and underdeveloped countries in our world. God cares deeply for the poor, and throughout His Word, He encourages His Church to take care of the widows, orphans, and poor in our communities.
Katie Matthews, Coaching Manager at The Banquet Network, often says, “The Gospel is Good News for all, and that all includes people with disabilities.”
Do we, the Church, Christ’s Bride, believe this? Do we believe that people who have disabilities are created in God’s image and are capable of receiving the Good News found through Christ’s work on the cross?
In the passage referred to above, Isaiah 58, God is asking his people to be obedient to Him, not out of religious practice, but because, through obedience, in Him there is enjoyment. The boundaries God lays out in His Word are given to provide and protect His people. In obedience, there is blessing, and the Lord wants to bless those who abide in Him (Ps. 103:17-18).
A Well-Watered Garden
Isaiah 58:11 continues: “...if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”
God responds with blessing toward obedient hearts. At The Banquet Network, we believe that the Church is disabled if its body does not consist of people who have disabilities. They are essential to the life of the Church. Christ followers, let us welcome individuals and families affected by disability into the full-body life of the Church, not because it’s a good thing to do, but out of obedience.
My plants went without water for two whole weeks. Even after three weeks of watering them every day, one plant is still drooping. It feels like an act of passive aggression towards me for allowing it to go two full weeks without water, but that’s beside the point. The point is, when we follow the Lord’s ways, Isaiah says we will be like a well-watered garden or a plant that never goes without water. Christ becomes our substance and satisfies our thirst.
In the same way a plant will not survive without water, we also will never experience true life apart from Christ. As a plant needs its water, we desperately need our Lord and Savior (John 4:14). God is our rest and assurance amidst the trials of this world, and if we believe this to be true, why aren’t we sharing the open invitation to experience the fullness of joy found in Christ with others? Are we, like it says in Isaiah, pouring ourselves out for the hungry and satisfying the desires of the afflicted? Are we sharing our bread with those who are hungry and inviting the homeless or poor into our homes? The Lord cares deeply for these human beings, and, as his followers, so should we.
I want to challenge the Church with this; are we being obedient to God’s command and welcoming individuals and families affected by disability into not only our homes, but also into our churches? And are we sharing the fulfillment we find in Christ with these families and individuals?
If you’re not sure how to do this, The Banquet Network is here to help. We want to help you and your church become like well-watered gardens where the Good News of Jesus Christ flourishes and spreads to others, positively impacting the lives of people who have disabilities. One way The Banquet Network is helping churches be obedient to God’s command to include individuals and families affected by disability into the full body life of the church is through our one-on-one coaching services. To learn more about how The Banquet Network is equipping the local church, go to thebanquetnetwork.com/whatwedo.
Allie McCarty is the Communications and Operations Manager for The Banquet Network. For more stories like this one, go to our blog page, or click to connect, learn or donate to the mission of The Banquet Network.