I am finally getting back around to reading the book Dancing With Max. I think I mentioned this, but will again. My friend Susie got this book for me from her church. The author, Emily Colson, was a guest speaker at their church. Her son Max is autistic. It's really a very wonderful book, and has me thinking about a lot of things- mainly my faith. It's not "over the top" with religion, but just enough mentioning of God to make me open my mind a little more. I won't get in to it, but I will say that God has not been a large part of my life, or should I say I haven't allowed God to be a part of my life. I believe my reasons are valid, but some may not, and that is why I choose not to discuss it.
There are certain parts of the book that really grabbed my attention, and made me think a little bit more about the role that God has in my life. For example:
"Max forces us to raise the most important question of our age: What does it mean to be human? If the geneticists and 'science for science's sake' crowd were to have their way, we would weed
out the unfit and create the perfect human race of infanticide, euthanasia, or, eventually, genetic engineering. But what would happen to our humanity? Gone would be many of the problems and ailments-that's true. But also gone would be the trials that shape our character- and inevitably our freedom would disappear. For to be perfect and live problem-free in a fallen world is to be a slave to whomever makes you that way. And if we, as creatures, were perfectly programmed by our genes, we would be stripped of the capacity for genuine love, which by its very definition must be an act of free will. Love goes to the very essence of being a Christian, indeed of being human."
"Real love is refined through pain and suffering, which is why one friend, when she learned of Max's autism, said to me, 'Oh, you have found favor from God, because he has given you this special-needs child so you can experience sacrificial love.'".
Pretty powerful, right?
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