Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to “Joni and Friends.”
I remember once at a conference where I was presenting; I remember sharing the speaker’s platform with my friend Camille. Actually, she doesn't speak. Camille is an interpreter for the deaf who often travels with me to sign my messages. As I talked, her hands were working a mile a minute just to keep up. I spoke for almost an hour, and halfway through, I realized my throat was getting sore so I had to quickly pop a lozenge. After that hour was up, I was exhausted, I was spent. I went backstage with Camille who immediately asked my secretary, Francie, if she would please give her hands a deep massage. I said to Camille, “Wow, that sure looks luxurious” to which she replied, “Well, Joni, your throat may be sore, but hey, my hands are sore from your talk. My tendons are tight and my fingers feel stiff from hand-spelling so many long words for which there is no sign. So look, this hand rub for me is as soothing as well, that lozenge on your throat."
A point well taken; it really spoke to me. I mean, here I have been working in disability ministry for years, and for some reason, it never occurred to me that Camille's hands would get tired of talking, or should I say, tired of signing. As I sat there and watched Francie give Camille back the "voice" in her hands, I thought to myself, Wow! What a beautiful picture of the body of Christ working together. One part simply cannot do the job alone. All of us in the body of Christ are so dependent on each other. Like, when I speak, I need someone else's hands to push my wheelchair to the platform. But my deaf friends can't hear my message unless Camille offers her hands to interpret. And Camille cannot sign very long unless someone else provides their hands to give her wrists and fingers a massage.
I can’t think of a more poignant picture that describes the way the body of Christ must work together to give the Gospel. Because when it comes to sharing the Good News of Jesus, it's always a cooperative effort of love and support. It’s always a “Look, I can’t do this without you; I need your help”. It’s people with different gifts and abilities partnering together to make certain the life-changing message of Jesus reaches into peoples’ hearts. And the neat thing is, the Lord takes such delight when His body works that way.
It was John Wesley who once said, “Do all the good for Christ that you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, for as long as ever you can.” Now that’s a life of service well defined. Every day, in every situation, we can serve, not only within the body of Christ, but we can serve in our neighbors, in our offices to coworkers, people you know in your community, at school — you name it. Do little things as if they were great, and do great things as if they were littlest; do what you can, with what you have, wherever you are. Is that too much to ask? Not really. It’s just keeping your eyes open and looking for ways to support others with your gifts.
And this should speak to you, because someone needs you today. The efforts of others may well be lacking if you don’t participate. So please, would you be the hands or the ears or the voice of someone who needs a touch from Christ? Look at your church; find a tailor-made place for you to fit into the body of Christ. Be the hands of Jesus to someone who needs God’s love. Remember, the Bible says that we're in this together so find a part of the body that can't be complete without you.
© Joni and Friends
Compliments of Joni and Friends
PO Box 3333 Agoura Hills, CA 91376