I don't want people to look at me and watch me limp (because I have lost most of the feeling in my left side and the ability to control my left ankle due to MS) and see me as a disabled person. I AM a disabled person but that is not my identity.
I have several good friends who are from different cultural backgrounds. My good friend who happens to be African American doesn't want to be seen as a black woman because that is not who she is as a person.
My children are teenagers but that isn't WHO they are.
My aunt is 87 years old but she doesn't want to be viewed as elderly- that is NOT her identity.
Our neighbor works for FEMA but her job does not define her.
We have friends who have lost spouses and are widows or widowers but that is not how they want to be viewed.
What connects us all is our faith in God, first and foremost. That breaks down the walls of division- or it SHOULD. Galatians 5:14-15 - For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
People outside the household of faith don't want to be looked at as a part of some category of people either. We all are individuals who have souls, hearts, minds, feelings, belief systems, etc. We may be disabled, different races, at various stages in life but we are all human beings. We are flawed and we are beautiful because God created us - all of us. Those who don't believe in God were created by Him too.
As Christians, we are supposed to bring different aspects of Christ into this world - to point the way to heaven. Let's stop with all the labels that only seek to divide. The next time you look at a person, look past their outward appearance and recognize that they are only human- nothing more, nothing less. And then, love them and show them the same grace God shows you.
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