Early one morning, I knelt to pray especially for next year’s appointments. As I was praying for the pastors, I felt a little troubled, because some pastors are not well-liked by their churches. I did not know where to put them. Which church should they go to? As I was feeling helpless for them, the Holy Spirit spoke to me: “The weaker pastors are even more indispensable!” I opened the Bible and saw God’s amazing words: “On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” (1 Cor 12:22)

I have read this verse countless times, but that morning, I saw in this verse not only pastors, but many other weaker ones who are indispensable, including the disabled, the marginalized, the physically ill, the elderly, the young, etc.

Kindergartens in our church recently started a new type of education, called “Inclusive Education”. Special needs children are placed in the same classroom as normal children. When we first started this program, many parents strongly opposed it. They believed that this arrangement would make their children “stupid”. But after a few months, a miracle happened. Their children not only did not become stupid, but they became more and more loving! Hallelujah! Why was this? As the Bible says: “so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.” (1 Cor 12:25) These children learned to have concern for each other!

Life lessons cannot be learned through textbooks. Through the weaker special needs children, these children learnt to love. So the ones we consider weaker are even more indispensable!

My wife and I are also learning to live with the elderly, whom most consider weaker. Actually, after we married, we had never lived for a long time with parents or in-laws. God thought that we needed to learn even at our old age, and so he sent my 91-year-old father-in-law. Praise the Lord, my father-in-law is healthy. He exercises 2 hours daily. He is also a good person; for example, he would fight with me over doing the dishes. I had to learn to be patient and kind. Patient at his request to wash dishes, kind to let him do them.

One morning at around 6 am, I was at the front door changing the light bulb. Since the ceiling was very high and it was dangerous climbing to the top of the ladder, I asked my father-in-law to help. He stood to the side holding on to the ladder, so that I could climb up one step at a time. When I had almost reached the top, he said something that I will never forget: “Hold up your hand against the ceiling.” I did so. Before that moment, I had felt like I would fall at any time. But now I felt very stable, as if I could hold up heaven and earth! I was deeply grateful of my father-in-law’s help, and I thought once again of the words of the Bible: the weaker are indispensable. So do not look down on the weak and the old.

Brothers and sisters, are there people around you whom you think are weaker? God has placed them in your homes, your schools, your workplaces, your churches. They are not randomly placed, but are indispensable, so that you and I can learn some important lessons. Have you learned them?

By Rev Dr Tie King Tai
SCAC President