A New Symbol of Access

After Paul writes about being transformed by the renewing of our minds in Romans 12, he moves into encouraging us to use our giftedness for His glory.     

3For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.4For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,5so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them.
Our thought patterns can be altered as we allow Christ to shape our thinking, and we will regard the skills or talents that we have as given by the Lord to be used for His glory.   In a culture that is seemingly departing from Biblical truth, we can look for ways in which we can speak or act that will point people to a knowledge of God.  We are not all called to public speaking, to pulpit ministry, but we are called to be faithful in the sphere of influence into which God has placed us, to discern and use the tools that the Lord has granted to us, to further a greater knowledge of Him or His principles.
God uses imagery throughout the Scriptures to present insight into His nature.   An example is found in 1st Peter 2:5you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.6Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."
Here Jesus is described as our cornerstone, a rock, a stable foundation.   The image communicates a message that can be instructive for us.

I like to identify ways in which Christians are impacting the culture with messages that are consistent with Biblical truth.   Recently in Christianity Today, former Meeting House guest, author Jennifer Grant, wrote a piece calling attention to a new symbol that has been generally called the "International Symbol of Access"; others call it the "handicapped" sign or sticker.    Jennifer's sister-in-law Sara Hendren teamed up with a professor at Gordon College in Massachusetts, Brian Glenney, for The Accessible Icon Project.  Starting in 2009, they worked together to design and promote a new symbol of access that—unlike its predecessor—depicts people with disabilities as dynamic and forward-moving. The new icon made national news in May, when the city of New York adopted it as its official symbol of access.

In referring to the old symbol, Glenney responds, "Are the arms in the old symbol those of the person or the chair? I think that ambiguity is dangerous in shaping our unconscious attitudes about people with disabilities."

He goes on to say that, "My deepest hope is that our symbol, however widely distributed, helps people confront their unconscious attitudes about people with disabilities and awaken their conscience about the importance of advocating for both social and physical access to all."

The Bible is a book full of imagery that can hold great meaning for us, and God does use images and symbols throughout the Bible to communicate his truth.  Those in the world of marketing and advertising recognize that a symbol or a logo can make a statement about a product or a company.  Jennifer Grant, for instance, points out that "a large swoosh on a stranger's T-shirt lets us, in a fraction of a moment, decode the logo to make an almost-instantaneous assessment of its wearer.

God can use artistic expression to illustrate a message that is consistent with a Christian worldview.   And, in this case, a Christian college professor has played a role in perhaps changing the perception oa a group of people that should not be looked down upon.  Glenney points out that Christians should be concerned about those who have disabilities.  He states, "The life of Jesus, and icons like Dallas Willard, show me that I'm part of a community of advocates for the poor and disenfranchised. They give me inspiration as I make my own attempt to self-authenticate my religious belief through advocacy and love. The power of Christ's message is one of total access: the ability for anyone to realize and authenticate their greatest desire and potentiality."

As Joni Eareckson Tada has powerfully demonstrated, the church in general and Christians individually can play a key role in being champions for those with disabilities.   Some churches have begun ministries that are specifically designed to affirm and assist those who are physically challenged in some way.   I think the development of this new symbol teaches a great lesson to us - it can potentially shape culture to think differently about those with disabilities, and it can also inspire each of us to use our gifts and God-given skills to communicate a message consistent with Scripture.