Our identity

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" -2 Corinthians 5:17

Marvin is a community leader in Tres M, Nicaragua, where we teach English classes and have raised funds to begin a water project. I've mentioned Marvin before in one of my previous posts, a man who became physically handicapped in a Nicaraguan war years ago and now has limited mobility, to say the least. Pablo and I were able to stop by Thursday to check on him and bring his family some food. Every time we see him he's grateful to see us and he always seems to be in good spirits. I'd love to take a picture of him to better share with you his physical condition but I have not found an appropriate time. (I have a fear that everyone's always thinking, "there's that white kid pulling his phone out to take pictures of us again, c'mon.") Anyhow, when greeting Marvin we shake his elbow because he doesn't have nerve function up to his hand on either arm. The last several weeks he has been bed ridden from different intestinal surgeries. So we have visited him in his home. He shared with us that he just had yet another surgery. Keep in mind that as we were talking we were absolutely covered by mosquitoes. Pablo and I were swatting our arms and legs every other second as we listened to the content words of a man without hands to swipe the bugs from landing on his face. Nevertheless Marvin shared with us his appreciation for our teaching the kids in the community, the different happenings of the town, and numerous things he had planned to do. What a selfless example he is. It's humbling to see a man who is barely capable of movement spend his life in leadership and servitude to a people far more physically capable than himself.

As I laid in bed Thursday night, I thought of Marvin. I thought of the great emphasis society puts on looks, of how important self image seems to be. I've often wished that it were possible to meet the woman I'm going to marry by seeing her personality before I was ever physically attracted. I began to question whether my personality would change if I were obese, if I were crippled, or I was diseased. Is who I am dependent on what I look like? Is what  I think about people dependent on social status? How productive could my life really be if I were in a wheelchair for the rest of my days? None of these attributes should matter as much as they do to me. What good is it to be a Christian if I don't truly believe 2 Corinthians 5:17? And by believe I mean for my life to reflect that belief.

This isn't the first time I've had these thoughts, but they deserve my attention. This summer, as I lived in Alabama, I was privileged to hear the story of Katherine and Jay Wolfe, which is posted on youtube and their website, "hope heals". Jay is the son of the pastor of the church I was a member of this summer, who married Katherine several years ago. To make a long story short, Katherine was a very physically beautiful woman, who suffered the trial of a brain tumor. Against all odds she survived and now uses a cane to get around. Over 90% of couples divorce when a terminal illness occurs, and Jay's faithfulness to Katherine has been a powerful testimony. The reality of this story hit me hard, to think how temporary our "image" is, the very image we spend hours a day in attempt to beautify. The beauty of 2 Corinthians 5:17 is that regardless of physical appearance, we can be made beautiful in Christ. If I am going to continue to call myself a Christian, who I am cannot be determined based on anything apart from who I am in Jesus.

I'm thankful for people like Marvin and Katherine, who have experienced undesired physical hardship, only to become more beautiful beings because of it.