Thursday, July 1, 2010

"The Donkey"

"For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called." 1 Corinthians 1:26

Yesterday while my daughter was cutting my hair, my two year old granddaughter came in the room with some of her toys. She brought in a very beautiful horse figure- she loves horses. Then she brought in a little donkey toy she had- she was telling me how the donkey "goes"; (what sound it makes). Being a grandmother, who is a Christian, naturally I want to try to use any opportunity to instill God's word and teachings in her. So when she brought me the little donkey, I started telling her that the donkey was a very important animal in the Bible. It carried Mary to Bethlehem where she gave birth to Baby Jesus. It also was the only animal in the Bible that ever talked- it warned a wayward prophet not to get out of God's will. A donkey also carried Jesus into Jerusalem just days before He was crucified in what we call the Triumphant Entry.

While I was trying to "teach" her, the Holy Spirit was teaching me. We tend to look at the donkey as the "least" of the animals- they aren't very important. We consider them to be dumb. Certainly there is no comparison between the donkey and its distant "cousin" the mighty Stallion. The horse looks stronger, more beautiful, more impressive. Who would chose a donkey over a horse if they had to choose. Remember the famous words from the Shakespearean play spoken by Richard III, "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse." It wasn't a donkey that was desired.

In our way of thinking the donkey may not be the most important animal, it may not be the mightiest or the most desirable, but it was the one that God chose many times, even over the horse. We tend to think the same way about people- we classify them. We consider/choose people according to their beauty, their talents, their education, their strength, their position, their status and by their wealth. We are "respecters" of persons. But God isn't. He actually will chose the weak and foolish over the strong and wise. He will use those who we throw away or cast to the side as some of His mightiest servants. He used a little shepherd boy- not the king- to destroy a giant. He used a servant to speak to the leader of an army to obey the words of the prophet. He used the king's cup bearer to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He used a murderer to lead His people out of Egyptian bondage. He used Gideon who was a coward to deliver Israel from the oppression of their enemies. And the list goes on.

God doesn't choose the same way we do. He doesn't place importance and value on people the same way we do either. On the contrary, He chooses what we think is not very important.

Have a great day. You may be feeling like the "donkey" who wishes it was a Stallion. Stop! Because when God is choosing, He will pick the donkey.

For further reading:
1 Corinthians 1:25-29
Romans 2:11
2 Kings 5:1-13

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