Hear Joni and Shauna share what it means to care for others along with some other topics. Listen in on another Q&A.
Ask Joni a question here!
SHAUNA: I’m Shauna with Joni Eareckson: Sharing Hope and thank you for joining us. Well, once again, Joni, we are tackling questions that our social media followers have posted for your response.
JONI: And I love this.
SHAUNA: Hey, let’s get right to it. It was Deb who posted, “What are your top verses that you quote to yourself when you’re feeling especially down?”
JONI: Oh, Deb, when I get the blues – whatever causes me to feel down, I remember Romans 8:32. “Since God did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also graciously give us all things along with him?” What saves me from feeling down Deb; is rehearsing all that God has given me. He’s given me life, and peace, and freedom, health, sunshine, and beauty. Most of all, he’s given me salvation. And Deb, if someone has rescued you from hell, that someone [that Jesus] is worthy of fighting for in your thoughts. And he helps me do that by his Spirit. And so, Deb, I hope you can see why Romans 8:32 is so important to me. It’s all about Jesus. I could quote you other favorite verses [sure I could] that help when I feel down, but nothing beats fixing your thoughts on the cross and all that Christ has done – and continues to do – for both of us, right?
SHAUNA: Oh, Amen Joni. I love that. And Jesus is so worthy of fighting for when it comes to our thoughts.
JONI: Oh, yes.
SHAUNA: It’s part of the good fight, isn’t it?
JONI: Oh, it sure is!
SHAUNA: Well, alright Joni. Hey, recently we posted a video where you said, “In Luke 9. Jesus says, ‘Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.’” And that rubs our intuition the wrong way! But Jesus is telling us to forget our life for his sake; to think of others first; to give generously even when we don’t have much; to step aside and let someone else take the credit when you did most of the work; to make Jesus famous even when it makes you look bad. It’s the way you lose your life for Jesus, isn’t it, Joni?
JONI: Yes, it is.
SHAUNA: Well, now, a listener named Beth heard all of that and she asks, “Joni, I don’t understand. Isn’t it wrong for someone else to take credit when you’ve done the work? Isn’t it right to say something? Please teach me more about this; I want to grow.”
JONI: Oh,first, Beth, let me make a correction. I didn’t suggest that you let someone else take the credit when ‘you’ did the work [although, that’s not such a bad idea]. No, I said, let others [maybe a coworker, a team member] – let them take the credit when you did most of the work. So, Beth, let’s say you and Shauna are working on a project, but you put in more effort because Shauna lacks a little skill. Now, it would be gracious of you to step out of the spotlight and invite Shauna to get the applause. And it would cultivate humility in your life. You’d be building up Shauna in the eyes of others, rather than you basking in all the accolades. See, do you get it? And Shauna would certainly see you as a real Christian. So, not caring about who gets the credit is behaving like Christ. You are conducting yourself like Philippians 2:4 tells you to. You are caring more about another’s interests than your own. And this is just a small example of what it means to lose your life for the sake of Christ; that is, for the sake of love and generosity, and humility in your own heart.
SHAUNA: What a beautiful example. And Joni, I’m just going to say what we’re all thinking. You are a real Christian.
JONI: Oh!
SHAUNA: Well, that session went way too fast! Thank you, Joni. And hey, thank you, friends! Send us more questions at joniradio.org.
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