Does God punish parents with a disabled child?translated

Reader question:

Hello. Tell me, why does God give a disabled child? Everywhere they write that this is a punishment for sins. My husband and I have a son with cerebral palsy. We, of course, are sinners, we go to church, we pray, but the phrase constantly burns in our souls: “You have been given such a child for your sins.” Then we begin to look over our whole lives and remember what we did wrong. We were young, we did a lot of things wrong, but I always thought that this is how a person grows up - he makes mistakes somewhere, etc. Does God really punish like that? It is very difficult to live with the thought that our son is suffering because of us.

Julia

Priest's answer:

Priest Evgeniy CHEBYKIN

Hello, Yulia.

Frankly speaking, I, as the father of a disabled child, do not entirely agree with the opinion that special children are born exclusively into families of notorious sinners. Even more: I try to avoid people who hold a similar point of view. And I recommend that you do the same.

Regarding your question directly: we, Orthodox Christians, believe that the Lord created the first people, Adam and Eve, in His image and likeness and allowed them to choose their own future path in life. To stay with God and develop spiritually, thus connecting the spiritual...