We Belong to Each Other
Hi, this is Joni Eareckson Tada, and I sure do love this beautiful old spiritual…
There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole.
There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul
Oh, I love that beautiful old hymn, and I sing it a lot when I’m feeling discouraged. I sing it a lot when I’m filled with fear or doubt or anxiety. I sing it when I’m fighting off worry, wondering if my disability, this quadriplegia, is going to get worse. I’m getting older; it’s not easier. Songs like these though are such an encouragement to me; and I’m glad the Lord Jesus has given me, as the Bible puts it, “songs in the night.” God has given me something else to encourage me when my wheelchair begins getting me down. Not just songs in the night, but photographs on my wall. I’ve got a photo hanging next to my desk where I work. I do not know the name of the man in the photo; I’m not even sure exactly where he lives – but this man is my inspiration. And let me tell you why.
Our Wheels for the World team members met him during one of our wheelchair distributions in Africa. There this poor man was lying outside his little house that had no roof; it was just a lean-to with cinder blocks and banana leaves. Anyway, he was lying against half a trash can, and his back is propped up against the wall. For him, it is the only position in which he could get comfortable. The villagers knew he was in a great deal of pain. He is a Christian, and his church helps meet some of his needs. Others give him alcohol to deaden the pain – like a pain reliever. And day after day he lies there. My friend who was serving on the Wheels for the World team asked if he could take a photo, but the man said, “Wait, wait one minute.” He then pulled his drooping shirt up over his shoulder. “Now, now it is okay,” he said. This man in deep pain still possessed a sense of human dignity. And no, he did not want a wheelchair. He just wanted us to pray for him; he was in that much pain.
Romans 12:4 says that each member of the body of Christ belongs to the other. That’s pretty powerful. Because God is telling me in his Word that I am intimately connected with that man over in Africa who is in pain. He belongs to me and I belong to him. My victory in my pain somehow, someway – and I can’t explain it – but it helps him. It does; it helps him. And it’s why I keep his photograph above my desk. People who walk into my office at Joni and Friends sometimes ask about this African guy in the photo. They want to know who he is. They think he’s someone really special to be on my wall above my desk. Well, I cannot say his name; but I can share his story. And if ever I start to feel a little sorry for myself, I just glance up and remind myself that there’s a guy over in Africa in pain who is in the body of Christ, and I’m connected to him, and each member of the body belongs to the other. I belong to him, too.
Friend, I’d like to show you this photo that hangs next to my desk. The guys here at Joni and Friends scanned it for me and have posted it on my radio page. So please, when you got a minute, click on joniradio.org and be warmed – as I often am – by the smile on this brother. Because for him there really is a balm in Gilead.
© Joni and Friends
