“Dad, can I have a donkey?”
my daughter Sue asked.
“What did you say?” I asked.
“A donkey. A friend I have done some work for has this old jenny who just gave birth to a colt, and he said I could have it.”
I knew Sue had always wanted a horse, but we couldn’t afford one. However, a free donkey was another thing. “Where will you keep it?” I asked.
She was ready for this question. “I talked to the chief of police, and he told me that I could keep a donkey in town if I keep its place clean and no one complains. We found some plywood and two-by-fours left over from a construction job, so we can build a little barn for it . . . please Dad?”
So we built a small barn and a fence, and Sue brought the donkey colt home. We were introduced to a cute, funny-looking animal. He looked like a stuffed toy - all legs and ears with light gray fuzz and not much bigger than a large dog. She named him Packy. As he adapted to his new surroundings, he became quite a character. His bray sounded like a bagpipe stuck on two notes, and he could be heard two blocks away - in Sue’s classroom at school. This brought giggles from her classmates.
When Packy grew old enough, Sue started to train him to be ridden. She started by putting her arms across his back and gradually increasing her body’s weight on him. But when she finally got up on his back, she found him stubborn, kicking and bucking -until he bucked her off.
Take a moment to think of the contrast. The Lord Jesus, as the king of Israel, rode a wild donkey colt which was completely submissive to Him - the Creator. Nobody had ever ridden on this donkey before, and it probably didn’t have even the amount of training that Packy had been given. You can read about this donkey in Mark 11:1-101And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, 2And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. 3And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. 4And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. 5And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? 6And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. 7And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. 8And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: 10Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. (Mark 11:1‑10).
By continued patience, Sue finally was able to ride Packy. She also had a small, pet monkey which she would place on Packy’s neck. It would ride on Packy’s head, holding onto his ears, much to the amusement of those passing by.
When Sue moved out to a farm, Packy was given a large pasture to graze in. But he wasn’t satisfied and became too smart for his own good. He learned to lift the latch on the gate and sneak out into the cornfield. Sue fixed the latch so he couldn’t get out again. At least she thought she had . . .
One night, past midnight, Sue was awakened by a banging on her door. It was a truck driver who told her he had just hit her donkey. Packy had been trotting down the middle of the road, and the driver had not seen him until it was too late.
Sue found Packy lying on his side, suffering. She held his head in her lap until an animal doctor arrived. Packy’s life could not be saved, he told Sue.
A Bible verse says, “Vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt” (Job 11:1212For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt. (Job 11:12)). This verse tells us how God sees us, born in sin, stubborn and going our own willful way. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity [sins] of us all” (Isaiah 53:66All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)).
Sue’s little donkey was safe in his pasture, with food and shelter and the love of his owner, but he paid the price of his willful ways. It cost him his life. The same will happen to any of us who overlook God’s love and the shelter He has provided in the Lord Jesus. God sent His only Son, the Lord Jesus, to die on Calvary’s cross. He took the punishment for sin so that you and I could be sheltered from the punishment we deserve. But for any who continue to ignore God’s love and shelter and choose to go their own willful way, the end result will be everlasting punishment in the awful place God calls hell. “He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:1818He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18)).
Don’t be a Packy. Accept God’s love and the shelter He has provided in the Lord Jesus. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)).
ML-02/24/2002