“”If anyone asks you, “Why are you doing this?” say “The Lord needs it and will send it back shortly.”” (Mark 11:3 NIV)
Somewhere out there, there’s a donkey owner who loaned his mule to the Messiah. What an honor! It was this man’s donkey that descended into Jerusalem with a Savior on his back. Too bad we don’ have donkey-cam footage to see what he saw: people throwing their cloaks before Jesus, breaking off branches and waving them about in worship. There’s a man that loaned his livestock to the Lord and it makes me consider what I’ve lent to the Kingdom.
I’m paying attention: what does it look like to live at this level of surrender? Surely this wasn’t the donkey owner’s first rodeo with Kingdom relinquishing. Give is a muscle we build. We begin small and grow from there, eventually generosity infiltrates every area of our lives. Was this donkey owner a believer? My guess is yes because he’d clearly synced up with the heartbeat of God: GIVE.
We might ask ourselves, what is our modern-day donkey and would we hesitate to hand it over to the Lord if He had need of it? I think of the snappy blue station wagon parked in the drive. It’s my prized possession; an ultra-safe Volvo I’ve waited my whole life to own. What would I say if the Lord had need of it?
It’s interesting to note that the disciples promise to bring the donkey back. We don’t read of the return, but we can be sure it happened. God keeps His promises. And anytime we invest in the Kingdom, eventually we see a return. We simply can’t outgive God.
“”They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus told them to and the people let them go.”” (Mark 11:4-6 NIV)
The owner wasn’t even present. Let that sink in a moment. Before we label this as Grand Theft Donkey, recognize that the community members stepped in, inquiring about the animal. When the disciples responded “The Lord needs it.” the witnesses give their blessing and go back to their business. It seems they knew the heart of their neighbor; he was the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.
This text challenges us a second time. Truly generous people are known by their neighbors. The surrounding community was well-aware of this man’s openhandedness. His unselfish nature had been noted over and over. They didn’t interfere with the disciples borrowing because they knew the owner would approve.
Let’s ask ourselves today, what do we have and what if the Lord has need of it? What would our neighbors do if a church member came by and borrowed our car? Would they call the police or would they smile and say “Seems like so and so.”
Lord, we are moved by the generosity of the unnamed donkey owner. He was willing to serve the Kingdom with everything he owned. We consider our possessions and wonder if we possess the same level of buy-in with Your Kingdom. Please grow our give muscle. Help us recognized today’s opportunities to sow into eternity. Amen.