No matter how disabled, old, or incapacitated you are, you can still live for God and serve others. That is what gives you a great quality of life!
SHAUNA: Joni’s got a great word about your quality of life today.
JONI: You know, you hear that phrase thrown around a lot don’t you – we talk about a certain standard of living that we prefer, that we enjoy, and we say, “You know, I have a good quality of life.” Or sometimes we speak of an elderly person languishing maybe in a nursing home, and we assume that he has a poor quality of life. Well, what does that phrase mean anyway?
I mean, think of someone with a very severe disability. He’s got to be bathed and dressed and toileted. He’s got to be fed and pushed everywhere in a wheelchair. Someone wipes his runny nose or feeds him in a restaurant. He’s got to be lifted in and out of bed, turned at night. Let’s get to the heart of it: for most people that would be a poor quality of life, even beneath their dignity – trading your autonomy for a lifetime of pain, and dependence and inconvenience. Most would say they had little to no quality of life that way. But here’s the thing: that scenario I just mentioned – it could be me. In fact, it is me. All those things have to be done to me and for me each and every day. And let me tell you, I think I’ve got a wonderful quality of life. Honestly, really I do. True, I’ve got to be bathed and dressed by someone else. Having to be toileted and fed and pushed around in a wheelchair – it’s not easy. Nevertheless, I think most people would say I do have a good quality of life.
So how do I maintain that perspective? Well, here’s the thing: When I get up in the morning – as difficult as it is – I need to remember in whose image I am made. I discipline myself to rehearse whose image I bear. My body may be broken, but I am a God-reflector. I mirror a God who is pleased to make me in his image. And that’s what gives me human dignity – not one’s ability to walk, or use their hands, or blow their nose, or cut their food, or toilet themselves. No, if others try to diminish my human dignity I can boast in the Lord, and in his image in me. That’s the reality I live in when I say [as a quadriplegic] that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me; Christ, whose image I bear.
So, let’s get back to this quality-of-life thing for a minute. If we believe it’s beneath our dignity to be weak and helpless and have to depend on others – we operate out of pride – it’s all about pride. There is no room for pride though when you bear the image of God. Only humility – and nothing fosters humility more than knowing that you reflect the image of God. Saint Irenaeus once said, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” Oh, friend, to be fully alive, is to live for his glory. So, for the sake of God’s glory and human dignity, I get up in the morning and live for the Lord, and for other people who need to understand whose image they bear. And that’s what gives me an excellent quality of life. I live for God, and I live to serve other people. It’s what gives any life value; it’s what gives a life rich and beautiful quality. No matter how disabled you are, or how old you are or incapacitated you are. Even if you can only barely pray, you can still live for God and serve others. That is a great quality of life!
SHAUNA: And friend, that’s the message we share every day at Joni and Friends; with every wheelchair we deliver to needy disabled people; every Family Retreat we hold. And every one of Joni’s inspirational radio programs that I just know enrich your “quality of life.” Her programs are available for you at joniradio.org anytime you need more encouragement. I’ll see you there at joniradio.org!
© Joni and Friends