Why does God allow BIRTH DEFECTS?Submit YOUR questions, through our easy to use form,
to our team of mature Christians known as the Email Evangelists! Question: Why does God allow birth defects? Answer: The question of why God allows birth defects to exist is a tough one to handle, especially for parents who have children with disabilities. We have autistic problems in our family and therefore can relate to your situation with your Asperger's syndrome son. Birth defects, though generated because of sin, are NOT the full answer. God has chosen to allow sin and its consequences for a very special purpose. The plan of God, only begun in Genesis, is for man to fully be "in his own image" (Genesis 1:26). God gave our first parents free choice to eat of the Tree of Life or the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. They chose to eat from the wrong tree. They wanted to define and decide for THEMSELVES what was right and wrong - instead of trusting God. By rejecting God, they put themselves under the influence of his adversary, the devil. God, since the time of Eden, has chosen not to interfere in human affairs unless it is to fulfill a particular purpose. Your son needs to understand why God does not get involved in human choices. By God keeping His distance, he is allowing us to experience the full effects of our choices and to learn many valuable lessons. Just like God, our choices DO affect others. Poor choices by one person can cause the suffering of others! For example, if a mother takes illegal drugs during her pregnancy there is a much higher risk her innocent baby will be born with disabilities. God allows this to happen to bring us to Him and to understand sin always affects everyone. Sometimes people are born with physical or mental defects not because of the wrong choices of their parents or ancestors, but because it fulfills the will of God. Jesus' healing of a man who was blind from birth is a striking example of how God accomplishes his goals: "Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' "Jesus answered, 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work . . . "When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam' (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing." (John 9:1-4, 6-7, NKJV)
In Ephesians 3:15 the apostle Paul states that God is building a family. His purpose is to have humanity become His spiritual sons and daughters. God is reproducing Himself by building a family where Jesus is the firstborn (Romans 8:29, Colossians 1:18). Explain to your son that his disabilities (defects) have NOTHING to do with what he has done. In reality, we all have disabilities of one kind or another with varying severity. All these human problems God allows so that we will ultimately choose his way and reject the way of Satan. I have found that many times those with the greatest disabilities draw closer to God and His ways than others who seem to have fewer problems. We also need to keep praying to God to help us overcome our disabilities. He will answer us in such a way that will bring glory to him. |