He Has Need of It

"The Lord has need of it . . . "   Mark 11:3

The words graced the envelope in her sweet script, sweet words written by a sweet woman.  At the end of that harried and haggard week I held the simple envelope in my hand and relished in the words that would lay within.  However, it was not to be for the only words she blessed me with that day lay on the outside of the envelope for its contents were only numbers (far more then I knew they could spare) on checks.  They gave their two mites and they gave Hope to three, and Peace to their Mama. 

I tacked envelope to my board and thanked God for those that care and act and I raced on.

But, He kept beckoning me back to envelope on board and finally I slowed to listen and He said ~ "Read the story, you need to understand the origin of this gift and all gifts gifted in the same."

And this was the story I read ~

 

As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. ² “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³ If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’”

⁴ The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside the front door. ⁵ As they were untying it, some bystanders demanded, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶ They said what Jesus had told them to say, and they permitted them to take it.  ⁷ Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it.
⁸ Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields. ⁹ Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,

“Praise God!
    Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

And then this is what He said ~

vs 2 ~ " . . . a young donkey tied . . . "  I have gifted you and all my people with countless "young donkeys" and they appear in a variety of ways and are ALL intended for My purposes and glory.  The young donkeys that come in monetary and tangible possessions are gifted to be gifted back to Me by giving them to those in need.  My "young donkeys" are all gifts, talents, loving relationships, skills, families, healthy bodies, strong minds, the Word of God, worship and all that is good and pure in your life ~ it has all been given by the hand of God, not to be wrung out for your own purposes but to be multiplied in the hands of God to bless His people and the lost and hurting.

Editorial Note ~  We often misread our own personal "young donkeys" as gift given by Giver to increase our own enjoyment in life when they are in actuality given to glorify Giver and our enjoyment comes from bringing glory to Him, not self indulgence.

Scripture continues ~ these talents, skills, resources etc are tied just as surely as the donkey was tied that day that the Lord was in need of it.  Much of what He has given is tied hard and fast to worry, fear, greed, addiction, lust, self indulgence, apathy, and countless other posts that stand deeply entrenched in the land of our souls.  The are tied and bound and on this day the Lord says, "But, I have need of those . . ."

vs 4 ~ " . . . and they loosed it . . ."  His disciples loosed that tied and bound donkey because the Lord had need of it and certainly that is what all His disciples should be doing in all areas of our lives.  We grab the reins that are wrapped around the posts in our finances, our skills, our capabilities, our relationships, and in all that we are and we unwind gift and offer them back to Giver.  If we are His people then all reins should lay loose in the wind to wait upon the Spirit of God to blow direction upon them.

vs 5 ~ "And some . . . said to them, 'What are you doing, untying that donkey?'"  Many will question as the reins lay loose in your life, "What are you doing?"  The question may sound more like this, "Are you crazy?"  And then you will know you are getting into the good stuff.

vs 6 ~ " . . . And they allowed them . . . "  This beautiful they is never named, at least not that our eyes are permitted to see but our Heavenly Father saw and He certainly knows and they are named and known to Him.  The unknown theys are a thing of beauty and one day the unknown theys will gather and eternally celebrate with their known God.  

vs 7 ~ ". . . and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it."  Jesus sat upon this once tied young donkey that was loosed and given because our Lord had need of it and He entered into Jerusalem on a gift that He had gifted and had now been gifted back to its rightful Owner for ~ He had need of it.  

Our chief aim as man ~ to glorify our Heavenly Father.

vs 9 ~ ". . . cried out, "Hosanna! Praise to the name of the Lord!"  And gift was loosed from the bounds of our earthly pursuits and the gift and the giver met their eternal purpose and they cried out, Hosanna! Praise to the name of the Lord, the Giver!   

I run, I teach, I sign, I cook, I clean, I give, I adopt, I write, I love, I hope, I believe, I race because ~

The Lord has need of it.