Made in His Image, part 11

Our Future Hope

Joni Eareckson Tada is a quadriplegic. She became paralyzed from the neck down when she was in a diving accident over thirty years ago. She’s in pain every day. But she has used her disability to become a blessing to thousands of people. She started the ministry “Joni and Friends” to help those with disabilities. Joni says:

“God cares most—not about making us comfortable—but about teaching us to hate our sins, grow up spiritually, and love him. To do this, he gives us salvation’s benefits only gradually, sometimes painfully gradually.

"In other words, he lets us continue to feel much of sin’s sting while we’re headed for heaven . . . where at last, every sorrow we taste will one day prove to be the best possible thing that could have happened.” (Joni Eareckson Tada and Steve Estes, When God Weeps, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997) 56.)

We not only have hope for our life here on earth, we have hope for our future life on the future earth. Those of us who have received the gift of eternal life look forward to the time when, after we die, the Lord will resurrect our bodies and will make us whole and complete, just as God intended for people to be when He created them in the beginning.

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,“Behold, the tabernacle of God iswith men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and betheir God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1–4, NKJV)

Seth and I look forward to spending eternity with Buddy. Only he won’t have the difficulties he has on this present earth—his body will be strong, his mind will be strong, he’ll be able to do the things he wants to do without effort or difficulty.

Paul encouraged the people in Phillipi, that, “we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20–21, NIV)

Joni Eareckson Tada again says,

“I still can hardly believe it. I, with shriveled, bent fingers, atrophied muscles, gnarled knees, and no feeling from the shoulders down, will one day have a new body, light, bright, and clothed in righteousness—powerful and dazzling.

"Can you imagine the hope this gives someone spinal-cord injured like me? Or someone who is cerebral palsied, brain-injured, or who has multiple sclerosis? Imagine the hope this gives someone who is manic-depressive.

"No other religion, no other philosophy promises new bodies, hearts, and minds. Only in the Gospel of Christ do hurting people find such incredible hope.” (Heaven: Your Real Home, p. 53)

“Joni once spoke to a class of mentally handicapped Christians. They smiled when she said that one day she would get a new body. But then she added, “And you’re going to get new minds.” The class erupted in cheers and applause. They knew what they most looked forward to!” (p. 301, If God Is Good)

My husband’s youngest sister, Mimi, has Down syndrome and lives with his parents. When we recently visited with them, we went out to eat. While there, I took our youngest son to the bathroom so I could change his diaper. Mimi was standing outside the stall. As I changed Cael’s diaper, I listened as she said to another lady, “Here I have something for you.” And she gave her a tract. Reading it, that lady said, “Do I know for certain that I’m going to heaven? Well, I hope so but I can’t be certain.” Mimi encouraged her to read the tract and to visit her church. She passes tracts out to just about everyone she meets without fear because she knows that people need Jesus in order to enter heaven. There’s a lot I can learn from Mimi’s boldness, and I look forward to the time in heaven when people line up before her, waiting to shake her hand, and say to her, “Thank you for giving to the Lord. I am a life that was changed.” And she’ll understand exactly what they mean because she’ll have a resurrected mind and body.


While we may not have the running back and valedictorian we had originally planned on (although we’re giving him every advantage), we have the child God fearfully and wonderfully made and entrusted to our care for His glory and our good—the one whom we wouldn’t trade for anything. And Buddy has indeed been a blessing to us in so many ways. He has a quick smile, an empathetic heart, a love of music, and a love of people. And we can’t imagine life without him.

If you are interested in learning more about what I’ve talked about today, let me recommend two books to you. The first is Randy Alcorn’s book If God Is Good. This is an amazingly comprehensive, yet easy to read book about God’s goodness in suffering, evil, disability.

And the second book is one that I wrote, Why Is Keiko Sick? It’s a book for children that addresses death and disease. I wrote it before Buddy was born so I don’t necessarily touch on the topic of disability, but it is relevant to what we’ve talked about today.

Let’s end by reading these verses together: “The Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:3–5 NIV).

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11