JOTB Testimony - Sarah Ago

noreply@blogger.com (Hillside) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:10:00 +0000

On Sunday, Sarah Ago shared with us how her experience with her brother led her into a different experience of who Jesus is. Her testimony is below:

I have seen Jesus most clearly in places you might not expect. It all started when I was almost eleven, and a little angel came into my family. My brother Jacob was born with Down’s Syndrome. I can still remember the first time I walked into the neo-natal ICU to meet him. His chest looked enormous due to the enlargement of his heart and he was hooked up to many machines. Yet, my first thought was, “He’s so cute!” I couldn’t wait until he would reach his arms up to me and say my name.

To my delight, I have had almost eighteen years now of that adorable child saying my name and reaching out to me. There is nothing like his smile. When I look in those smiling eyes, I see the joy and the purity of Jesus in a way that I can’t through anyone else.

Yet, Jesus has revealed Himself in Jacob’s life in ways that my family neither expected nor wanted. Jacob has been ill for much of his life. Almost any ailment that a child with Down’s syndrome can have, he has. In recent years, we have been through one operation after another for various medical problems.

It is beyond comprehension to fathom why someone so innocent and pure should suffer so much. There have been times when he has been in agony from the pain he was feeling and I have screamed the question “Why?” in my heart. I have not received answers to that question, but I have seen Jesus glorify Himself, even in Jacob’s sufferings. I see parallels to the sufferings of Christ in his life. I have experienced the marvelous work of God on His behalf in each hospital stay and in every period of recovery. God has truly sustained us all.

I saw the same type of suffering mixed with determination and perseverance when I spent time in China this past January. I worked in an orphanage with children with special needs. Seeing the love they showed in the midst of great suffering has forever changed me. The unconditional grace they gave is unparalleled.

See, I have discovered that children with disabilities can’t be anything but REAL! How amazingly refreshing this is! A picture I will forever keep in my mind to illustrate this is how one of the girls would literally shake with delight when I walked into the room. She communicated that I was of great worth to her in this beautiful expression of welcome. These are children that have been abandoned and rejected, yet they are capable of much more love than I am! I asked myself if I have ever given as sacrificially as they do or loved with the same exuberant extravagance.

Can you see the pictures of Jesus in these examples? I see it in Jacob, in the disabled orphans of Hengyang, and in the special children here at this church. The love they offer us is not manufactured. It is true and pure and powerful. This is the beauty of Christ manifested in what the world calls weak. God delights in doing this! What we consider powerless, He fills with His power. What we call the least, God calls the greatest.

I have seen Jesus in their faces. I am convinced that we find Jesus in the lowly places, the forgotten corners, and the rejected institutions of the world. We see Him in the abandoned and the broken. We see Him in those who are pressing on in the midst of immense physical and mental challenges. Even in the suffering, His glory is manifested. I believe that He is there, just waiting to be discovered.

This is my story of encountering Jesus “outside of my box,” but right where He has always been.

What parts of Sarah's story do you resonate with? Have you had any similar experiences of Jesus?

Welcome to Jesus Outside the Box

noreply@blogger.com (Hillside) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:32:00 +0000

Welcome to Hillside's blog for the Jesus Outside the Box series. As we journey together to try to shed our stereotypes of who Jesus was and is, we'll ask questions of each other and discuss our progress. Check back each week and join the discussion by clicking "comment" at the bottom of the posts. Let's figure out together what happens when we let Jesus out of the box!