As my mind awakened in the early morning, I knew it was time to get up and prepare for the day, but the crisp air in my room tempted me to stay in bed just five more minutes. Remember, I live in Guatemala without the same insulation as some of you have. Unlike some of my neighbors, I have what looks to be cinder blocks but are actually panels of thinner cement that slide into grooves. I’m sure there is an official name, but I don’t know it. Because of that, my bedroom, actually my whole house, can change temperature very quickly. I can be hot when I get to bed and cold in the morning. Cinder block doesn’t have quite as rapid a temperature change. So when it cools off into the upper 40s or low 50s overnight, my bedroom cools off as well. People from the north have said they would like it, but then said they’re cold in the morning, too.

As I lay there thinking and preparing to get out of bed, this verse came to mind:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come  (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV).

That’s not a bad verse to start the day. So instead of going to Ephesians, as I’ve been doing this year, I thought I’d spend some more time looking at this verse in context. As I read chapter five, I realized it continues directly into chapter six without stopping, so I kept reading.

As I read verse three, it was as if something jumped off the page. Had I just been hit by something? I had to go back and read what it said. I read it again:

We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry (2 Corinthians 6:3 ESV).

For the last year or more I’ve been talking about how the heart of TCI is to reach out to the largest group of unreached people in the world, people with disabilities, a group of people often forgotten by the church all around the world. These people have been created in the image of God for a purpose, not just to be served, but also to find their place of service in the church.

And here was a verse, to me, talking about just that. Yes, obstacles keep people with disabilities from finding their place within the body of Christ. And being a physical therapist, obstacles is a word I can relate to even more than what other translations use: stumbling blocks.

God has called us to remove the obstacles that prevent not only people with disabilities, but all people from finding their place in His kingdom. And if we’re not doing this, then from what I read, there is fault in our ministry. I discovered so much more this morning, but you’ll have to come back in the coming weeks to hear it all.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about some the obstacles we may put in front of others.