Over the many years I have taught Bible classes, I have had a number of special needs children. I have to admit that I have felt very unqualified on many occasions to teach these children.
I think this is one area where Bible class teachers do not get a lot of training. We learn how to prepare lessons, make flip charts, use flannel graph; and in this new era, we have learned how to use technology.
I have had more than one autistic child in my classes, and I must admit that I have often felt frustrated in teaching these children. Though unprepared, I have loved these children. I have love watching them grow and learn.
I have one of these special children in my class now. She is a delightful fifth grader with a passion to learn. She has just completed learning 100 Bible verses; and when I say learned, I mean learned. She is able to quote those verses on demand at any time.
Recently, we were having a discussion in class about a particular subject; and one of the students asked, “Where can I find that in the Bible?” Before I could answer, this autistic child quoted the verse word for word and told us where it could be found.
She won a medal in my class last year for saying all of her memory work, and she is on target to receive another one this year. What a gift she has!
When she came to my class, she was shy, didn’t read loudly enough to be heard, and read too fast to even try to understand her. Now she reads clearly and distinctly, and she rarely misses a review question. She just won a speech contest that surprised everyone, even her.
This child has wonderful parents. Needless to say, they spend a lot of time with her. They clearly understand Solomon’s words in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” They are truly bringing her up in the way she should go, Ephesians 6:4.
Though my little friend has some handicaps, her smile, enthusiasm, and generous hugs bring me a lot of joy. She encourages me and makes me thankful that she is in my class. She makes me a better teacher because she encourages me.
Not all special needs children are capable of so much. I had one of these children in class last Sunday. His family was visiting, so I don’t know anything about their situation. He sat in a wheel chair and made crying noises. Unfortunately, we had to find his mother and have her take him out because he was not comfortable. I admire his mother for making the effort it took to get up, dress him, and take him to worship.
The truth is, every child is special. Jesus said, “Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Now when I read that verse, I think about all the special children in my class.
I have another child in my class that was born with some facial deformities. He has had several surgeries, and he will need several more to improve his appearance. He is a delightful young man with a talent for making everyone laugh.
Last week, he told me that a boy in his class at school made fun of him because of his nose. He was so forgiving of his classmate. He just said, “I don’t know why people have to be so mean.”
That is exactly the attitude Jesus was talking about that is recorded in Matthew. That forgiving spirit is the way God wants us to be.
The rest of the passage in Mathew 18 says, “And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me to stumble, it were better for him that a millstone where hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Jesus wasn’t talking about children with disabilities in particular, but He was talking about acceptance. We all come to Jesus with sins and spiritual deformities. We must be cleansed of those sins, become as little children, and then we can enter the kingdom of heaven.
Our daily prayer should be that we become like little children and serve the Lord like the children in Matthew 18.
Sandra Oliver