I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I wonder have you ever gotten tired of giving?
Welcome to "Joni and Friends" where I have a story about giving for this National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. Because I know a lot of people for whom giving seems to almost wear them out! Sometimes I hear people say that a single man has "given his elderly parent the best years of his life, helping him." Or I hear about a mother who has sacrificed all to "devote her years to care for her disabled child." Occasionally, it is a missionary who has "invested all, sacrificed all, for the mission field." Sometimes, people tell my husband, Ken, "Wow, man, you're a saint being married to Joni. I mean, it's great how you've given up your life to serve a handicapped woman!"
Well, the way these people describe it, you feel like collapsing in bone-weary exhaustion. And, yes, service, especially serving someone like me, someone with a severe disability, can be extremely tiring, but it doesn’t have to be tiresome; it’s all a matter of focus. Jesus must not only empower our service, He must be the focus of our service. That's my husband Ken's secret. He’s not serving me—a woman with a disability to whom he is married—no, he is serving God. He hasn’t given up his life to help me; Ken has given up his life to God and the Lord just so happens to have him married to someone with a disability—me, a quadriplegic. It’s why Colossians chapter 3 includes one of Ken’s favorite verses, which says, "Whatever you do work at it with all you heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." That’s the 23rd verse. But listen to verse 24 where it says, "It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Wow!
We don't give up our lives to serve others; we give up our lives to serve Jesus. And it’s incidental that we are serving a husband or wife, an elderly parent, or a child with a disability, or we are on the mission field serving a tribe. Sure, we may get weary (we all get weary … we will get weary)! But our work does not have to be wearisome if our energy comes from the Lord Jesus. Really, how can service to Jesus Christ be a boring effort?
My good friend, Dr. Robertson McQuilkin, some years ago stepped down as President of Columbia International University in order to take care of his wife, Muriel, who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s. Here, this woman was trying to put kitchen chairs into the refrigerator … she was, but Dr. McQuilkin was so compassionate, so tender with his wife. And he was only able to be compassionate and continue to love and serve because his focus was squarely on serving Christ. He knew he was glorifying Jesus every time he gave Muriel a bath or fed her dinner or got her dressed or, took her to the toilet. Just take a look at the 23rd verse where it says, "Work for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward."
Dr. McQuilkin knew that he was enhancing not only Muriel's eternal estate, but he knew he was enhancing his own; he knew a rich reward would welcome him in heaven because of his obedience (not to Muriel), but to Jesus. I'm pleased to tell you there's much more to the McQuilkin's story; Dr. McQuilkin wrote it all down in a wonderful booklet called, "Living by Vows." It's a most remarkable story and you can get yours free today by visiting my radio page at joniandfriends.org.
© Joni and Friends, 2012
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