We Are Called to Love like Jesus

John 15:12: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” 

Recently, a wonderful friend came to care for me when my husband, Ken, went on a fishing trip. Like anyone who has taken Ken’s place as my caregiver, she got a crash course on the demands of helping someone with a disability.  

Daily Life with Disability 

I mean, right away, whoever’s helping me gets immersed in countless routines. They have to learn catheters, leg bags, and disinfecting urological equipment. They’ve got to pick up meds from the pharmacy, help me with chest percussion therapy, study spirometer readings, and hold up a tissue to blow my nose at least ten times a day. Then there are the bed baths, nebulizers, and mealtimes when I need to be fed—oh, and sips of water all throughout the day. And friend, this only scratches the surface. 

By the time Ken returned from his fishing trip, my friend caring for me looked at us and said, “People have no idea what you go through, do they?” And she was right. Oftentimes, people assume I just wake up and… here I am, all dressed, with makeup on! People imagine that our life is somehow manageable, doable, and reasonable. Perhaps some assume that people with disabilities get used to their circumstances and have all their needs covered. 

From “Awareness” to Christ-like Love 

March is Disability Awareness Month, so it seems a fitting time to tell you, from the lady who has lived with quadriplegia for decades… sometimes I wish people knew how hard life with disability can be. And of the 1.3 billion people in the world with disabilities, many live with poverty and discrimination, which exponentially multiplies the kinds of difficulty I face in my daily routines. So friend, as I see it, awareness alone is not enough… not for followers of Jesus Christ. 

What do I mean? Well, look at our Lord and Savior, Jesus. In response to our broken, sin-ridden world, did He look down from heaven, simply “aware” of our hopeless plight? Did He just take note of our hopeless condition and leave us to suffer? No! He came down and took on a mortal frame, susceptible to pain. And on the cross, He not only entered into your plight and mine… He conquered sin, death, and hell, which would have otherwise crushed us for all eternity! 

So, what does it mean to live out the command of Jesus in John 15:12, to “Love each other as I have loved you”?  

This verse makes me think of my dedicated caregiving friends who are not just “aware” of my needs but pour out their time and energy to feed, bathe, and clothe me. I think of my husband who is not just “aware” that I can’t lay in one position all night, but gets up at 3:30 in the morning, takes out my pillows, turns me on my other side, re-tucks the pillows, pulls up my blanket, and gives me a kiss on the forehead. 

And friend, I think of you, who make it possible for struggling families to experience refreshment at our Retreats & Getaways. Many parents who come to our Joni and Friends^® Family Retreats… they are raising children who have significant developmental delays; some of these boys and girls must be tube fed and toileted. Other families have grown children with autism, epilepsy, and sleep disorders, needing ‘round-the-clock care. 

Oh, how grateful I am that our Joni and Friends community, including you, can offer so much more than “awareness” to disabled people in need. And we do it all in the name of Jesus, loving like Him. As John 13:35 says, by this everyone will know that we are His disciples, bringing glory to the Father. 

-Joni Eareckson Tada