Miracle Grow

Shauna: I'm Shauna with Joni Eareckson Tada sharing hope. Here's Joni with a special word.
Joni Eareckson Tada: Our Joni and Friends headquarters is beautiful. Years ago, I was thrilled to be able to help design the building and its interior, so I feel a little responsible for how our headquarters looks. I realize that's the job of those who do facility maintenance, but lately, I have noticed that the two stone planters on either side of the front doors need help. To me, the flowers and greenery look wilted, especially with our hot, dry Southern California weather. Although the planters are on a drip system, occasionally when I'm driving to work in the morning, I will bring a gallon jug of water with me. When I get out of the van and before I wheel into our building, my helper will pour all that water onto the greenery and flowers. It's my way of keeping the front of the building looking nice. The other day after work, I realized I still had another gallon jug of water in the van. Before getting in the van to go home, my helper and I went over to the planters and doused the flowers with water. We also snipped some dead leaves and withered flowers. Just then, Jesse, my co-worker, exited the building with one of our Joni and Friends summer interns. The two of them paused where I was working, and Jesse introduced me to the young intern. It was her first day. I greeted the young woman and said, "Well, I bet you've never met a chief executive officer of a global ministry out front trimming and snipping flowers at their building." We all laughed, and Jesse said, "Joni, it's what we love about you. You may be the CEO, but you don't put yourself above us. You consider yourself part of the team that you lead." My cheeks flushed a bit, but I wasn't embarrassed to be doing gardening stuff at the front door. Besides, the intern now knows that I love flowers and greenery. My point is the story here perfectly illustrates Romans chapter 12. Up until that point, the Apostle Paul is writing all about doctrine and theology. But starting with the 12th chapter, he turns and gives practical ways for us to live out our faith. Right at the beginning, at verse three, he starts off with, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought." In other words, do not consider yourself above others, but be measured. Have a sober assessment of yourself. Paul's telling us not to cherish inflated ideas of our own importance. I remember a few decades ago when I was young in the faith and sharing my testimony of what Christ was doing in my life. I noticed that people were responding, and that made me feel like I was special, like I was some big deal. Shortly afterward, I stumbled across Proverbs 16:18: "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." Did that hit home. God's word nailed me, and I was convicted. I've never forgotten that Proverbs 16 has stayed with me all these years. If you happen to visit Joni and Friends and get out of the car and see me out front with a bag of Miracle-Gro and a sprinkling can, just humor me. Just tell me the front of our home office looks great. Join me in inviting God's word to be our judge. Let Romans 12 evaluate you. Then, let's lower ourselves before the Lord and recognize that it is he who has given us all our gifts, capacities, and graces. We want to see ourselves as God sees us and then partner with his Spirit so that we become more like Christ. These are good words to grow on today from joniradio.org.