God's Chosen Donkey

UV 2247/100000 God’s Chosen Donkey

Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
Mattew 21 v 2

Why did Jesus choose that particular donkey? The answer to that question will perhaps determine why He has chosen you and me. The donkey was not chosen as it was the most beautiful, strongest, fastest, youngest, smartest, wisest, most trained or obedient or disciplined or best. It was not chosen for its gender or colour or for its comfortable woolly coat or the contours of its structure. It was chosen as the Lord needed that donkey at that particular moment in His earthly journey to fulfil the prophecy: “Your King is coming to you, lowly and sitting on a donkey..” It was Jesus’ sovereign choice to ride that particular donkey as it is His sovereign choice to rule in our lives as King and Saviour. The permanent owner of the donkey was claiming the donkey’s use from the temporary owner. Hence, there was no need to seek permission or pay hire charges. Likewise, the organisations, the nations, the families, the society that we belong to are our temporary owners. When our Eternal Owner asks for us, none of these temporary owners can hold us back. The donkey knew that all the praise and appreciation that came along the way was for Jesus. Like the donkey, we should consider that it is enough of an honour to be used by Jesus to carry His message to the world and seek no reward or honour beyond that. For us like the donkey, seeking, doing the Lord’s will is the Kingdom of heaven. The important thing is to be ready like the donkey and his owner to respond immediately, without hesitation or reluctance to any call of the Lord. The Lord had a particular task cut out for the particular donkey. He did not compare it with any other contemporary and choose this one as it was better in comparison or competition. It is an unique calling, preparation and enablement. The Lord chose the time and place to declare his intent to ride this donkey.

Obviously, the donkey was strong and fit enough to carry Jesus. We too should ensure that we are physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, professionally and spiritually fit enough to carry the message of Jesus to the world around us. The donkey’ s owner or his servants did not resist the command of the Lord to send the donkey to fulfil Jesus’s mission. Neither we nor anyone close to us should resist the will of God concerning any talent, ability, resource He wants to use. We should not therefore be only fit and able but also willing to do the will of the Lord and not hold back anything that will advance the kingdom of God on earth. Everything we are and everything we own belongs to the Lord. He has lent it to us for a period of time but anytime He asks for it we should be ready to give it back to Him either temporarily or for good. The presence of Jesus on the donkey was enough reward and enough blessing. It was no guarantee that the donkey would get more fodder the next day or get less beating.

Jesus was using the natural, a mere donkey, to manifest the supernatural. The world assigns the meanest of tasks to the donkey-carrying burdens for others, trudging difficult terrain and hardy paths. Likewise, we can carry the burdens of the world for the sake of the Lord. Jesus could have chosen the grander beast- the horse to ride in glory into Jerusalem to the cries of Hosanna on Palm Sunday but He chose the humbler cousin of the horse, the donkey. Likewise, we might not be the smartest people in town or even in the street but the Lord knows our potential and can use us despite our stubbornness, our lack of the smart quotients of this world. Every believer can stay humble despite the great things God has accomplished through him or her by thinking of self as God’s chosen donkey. Jesus in me and Jesus on me can do all things that are pleasing to the Lord. We will never take credit for all that He has done in us, for us and with us. We will just be grateful for God’s grace that we have been chosen to do this or that or to receive this blessing or that. Like the donkey on Palm Sunday, we will be content to be led step by step on the path the Lord takes us. It might be a good idea that we are introduced in some meetings not as “great men or women of God”, as a remarkable leader, as a wonderfully gifted person but as God’s chosen donkey. For as the account of the donkey shows us that there are no great men of God but only men of a great God.


Prateep V Philip