Over the years I’ve had the privilege of sitting on a number of committees charged with the daunting task of choosing a suitable applicant for a job vacancy.

I have always given it my best, but as we all know when it comes down to it every decision is a calculated risk because all we can do is weigh up the evidence and opt for the one we believe to be the best person for the job.

That’s where God has an advantage over me, indeed over all of us. He doesn’t have to take calculated risks because He can see into the future and so is always able to choose the right person to do His work.

Take the virgin Mary. She was a young girl living in ‘an average nowhere place’ called Nazareth, far away from the corridors of power, yet God chose her to be the mother of His dearly loved Son, the child destined to become Lord of all.

As always, He was ‘spot on’ too, because despite the obvious challenges and threats to her reputation – not to mention her forthcoming marriage to Joseph – Mary was prepared to embrace God’s plan for her life and ‘give it her all’. In the words of a well know hymn she was ready to ‘trust and obey’ and in so doing she shows us the nature of true faith. Mary is a challenge to us all then because her reaction poses a very simple question: are we prepared to do the same’?

Joni Eareckson Tada is a shining example of true faith. Joni as she is well known has just celebrated her 75th birthday after nearly 60 years of quadriplegia.

Joni broke her neck in a diving accident when she was 17 and was told she could expect to live ten years with her type of spinal cord injury but she has done more than survive, she has lived a rich, fulfilling life and in so doing she has enriched the lives of countless numbers of people over the years.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of ‘Joni and Friends’, a ministry that brings hands on help and life-affirming Christian hope to people living with disability.

For 30 years for example her flagship initiative ‘Wheels for the World’ has been collecting used wheelchairs, restoring them in prison work programmes and then distributing them to needy areas around the world.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, ‘Joni and Friends’ responded by helping to evacuate hundreds of people with disabilities from war zones and is now training teams of volunteers to minister to disabled Ukrainian Veterans who have been severely damaged by that horrific conflict. In fact, it would seem that ‘Joni and Friends’ has been a source of help to a staggering 14 million people all over the world since it was founded.

As I’ve reflected on Joni’s incredible story (she is also well known for her ability to paint by holding a brush in her mouth) I can’t help wondering how different our world would be if we were as committed to helping others as this remarkable lady clearly is. And I can’t help noticing the explanation for her life of sacrificial love either. It’s to be found in her faith in the man who was born in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago, who lived for others, and wants us to do the same too.