Why I want to remain autistic and retain ALL of the weaknesses that come with it

Wow! God has been so good and I am glad that I can sing forever of His love for me and His goodness and I am just so amazed and blown away by His awesome work that He has done through me in my life and especially at Cornerstone and Eternity Bible College. Man do I pray that God will just continue to broadcast how awesome His grace is so that all will believe. This is the reason that the chief of sinners, Paul, was saved as 1 Timothy 1:15-17 makes clear, so that unlimited patience may be displayed for all who believe for eternal life!!

Now I have gotten a brand new revelation from both God and Jesus Christ as I continue on my journey through Eternity and in my Introduction to Discipleship class. When I first came to school here, I wanted to completely rid myself of the weaknesses that came with autism because I thought that it was going to significantly hold me back in many crucial areas of my walk. I was reminded of all of the hard times that I had to go through because of autism, how I was isolated for years and laughed at before I became a Christian. And now everything is in a different perspective as I meet amazing God-glorifying Spirit-filled Bible soaked Christians that I have gotten the chance to bond with and enjoy! Now I WANT to retain this autism and all of the weaknesses that come with it. Now this sounds like an insane request to the world and yes it is an insane request. But the Christian life is SUPPOSED to look insane to the world is it not??

The key to this new perspective on autism will rest on two key texts that occur in the Bible.

1. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

A Thorn in the Flesh

7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself!
8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.
9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
10Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

This is one of my favorite passages when it comes to why I am the way I am. I have realized that God may me autistic and that it is an integral part of me, strength and weakness combined. And so I realized that I shouldn't hate it, I should rejoice in it because that is what glorifies God. (Psalm 139:13-14) Mark Beuving helped me to see that I can actually take delight in God's specific handiwork of me and that I should not try to be somebody else I am not because any attempt to be healed of autism would be a sin because I am trying to escape from God's chosen identity of me.

Furthermore, I realized that I am really actually building godly relationships with other wonderful EBC students and Cornerstoners DESPITE my horribly damaged social skills and I believe there is only one reason that this is true. It makes the power of God and also the GRACE of God shine that much more brightly. People can look at God and praise Him for taking a guy who was a nobody without Christ and make Him into somebody who can build godly relationships, something that is considered impossible for the average autistic. And now imagine if I can actually do effective Christ-exalting ministry and if I can actually get married to a beautiful woman WITH all of the weaknesses of autism that I have. Just think about how much more praise to the amazing grace of God would that bring. I won't be able to say that I overcame autism and that the grace of God really worked, like it did in the life of Paul. "By grace I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10) I am a child of the most High God and therefore I rejoice in my weaknesses of autism, because then grace really starts to look beautiful in my eyes. Autism is really a gift now to me and not a disability, as the world would call it.

2. 1 Peter 1:6-9

6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,

7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

All of the weaknesses of autism are trials and I know that I can rejoice in these trials because these are what brings me even closer to God because HE is the gospel, not health wealth or prosperity. And I know that God is using the trials with autism to make my perserverence stronger and to perfect my faith so that I can rejoice in and display the beautiful grace of God even more!! So I know that it would be a sin for me to ask God for healing from this disability because it is who I am and also because that is taking the easy way out. God has big plans for me for what He will do through my disability and I am excited to see this in the future.

Living by faith and not by sight with you (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Kevin Chu