This is my second child, and first son, Kenny. He turned 12 this past week. He is sweet, caring, and funny. He likes Pokemon, Legos, and video games. He’s wonderful at playing with babies (they all seem to love him; even my 19-month-old godson gets more excited at seeing Kenny than he does at seeing me); he’s quick to sense that he might have hurt someone’s feelings, and to try to make it right; and he’s insanely creative. He loves to draw, play with his friends, and explore new things.
He also has Asperger’s Syndrome (the mildest form of autism).
But as you have read in the first paragraph, there’s so much more to Kenny than his syndrome. In fact, his syndrome is only one of a number of characteristics that make up the wonderful boy I love—and it’s not even the chief characteristic. It’s no better or worse than any other characteristic.
It just…is.
Kenny’s Asperger’s doesn’t sum him up any more than does the fact that he has big, brown eyes. It doesn’t tell you any more about him than does his build (he’s of medium height and weight), or the fact that he likes Angry Birds, or the story about when he gave me all his money upon my return home from the hospital after having Timmy, as a welcome-home present.
It tells you that he has more difficulties understanding and relating to people than neurotypical people (that’s you and I) do. It doesn’t tell you about the time when he accidentally grabbed a hot pan of brownies from the oven without potholders, and got badly burned on both palms and most of his fingers because he carefully set the hot pan down rather than drop it on the floor and ruin the brownies I’d made (thereby wasting my time).
Some people think that Kenny’s syndrome tells you more about him than most of his other qualities. In reality, it tells you far less than most of them, because it doesn’t tell you about either his character or his God-given uniqueness that has nothing to do with having a syndrome and everything to do with being a 12-year-old boy made in God’s image.
Why am I telling you all this? Because, my friend, I want you to realize that none of your characteristics that others (or even you) might consider undesirable defines you, either.
Do you fail to conform to our culture’s idea of what constitutes a beautiful physical appearance? Are you struggling with your finances? Are you not one of the “in crowd”?
Doesn’t. Matter.
Jesus wasn’t much to look at—it spells that out pretty plainly in Scripture (see Isaiah 53:2). As for His finances, He was homeless and had to be financially supported by women (a shameful thing in that day and time). Was He popular? Not with the “in crowd.” They hated Him and kept trying to kill Him. Are those things the most important things about Him? Hardly.
Have you sinned, maybe even in a big way? So did the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul, and King David, among many others. But their sin didn’t define them, and yours doesn’t define you.
Yes, Kenny has Asperger’s Syndrome. But by telling you that, I’m only telling you one thing about him. I’m not telling you who he is.
Don’t buy into Satan’s lie that any characteristic, or set thereof, says anything much about who you are, either.
Your identity is what God says it is—and He says you are His creation.
You’re not a sin or a deficiency or a fault.
You’re a divinely-created masterpiece—because God makes nothing less.
Genesis 1:27—So God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (KJV)