“You shall say this, ‘The Lord has need of it’.”
– Jesus instructing the disciples (Luke 19:31)
In Jesus’ time, a donkey was one of the most valuable possessions the ordinary middle-class family could have. Yet, on the day of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus instructed His disciples to head into the city, untie a colt from its post outside a certain house, and then bring it to Jesus for His use. The only explanation that the disciples were to give to the owner was that “The Lord has need of it.”
As Creator of the world, Christ was entitled to everything the owner had. When He needed the service of the colt, the owner offered the animal without asking questions and without delay. The disciples’ gave no explanation, motive or reasoning behind the request. Instead, they said simply that the Lord had need of the animal and that was all that was necessary.
How much does Christ have to say to you before you can let go of something you hold on to dearly? What is the item in your life that Christ asks for? It could be your money, time, speaking talent, house, even your family.
You may consider what you have to not be worthy of Christ and thus not good enough to give. But Christ can take the most ordinary thing and shape it into a tool for the advancement of His kingdom.
Jesus asked to use the boat of some fishermen, and that simple boat became a pulpit to preach to the masses.
With a small boy’s packed lunch of bread and fish, Jesus was able to feed more than 5000 men alone.
With a little dirt from the ground, He was able to heal the blind man.
The borrowed tomb of Joseph of Arimathea became the empty tomb that would prove Christ’s resurrection.
Jesus doesn’t need what we have, in the sense that He cannot exist without that something; rather, He chooses to work alongside His creatures, using them for His glory.
As you evaluate your life, ask yourself the question: What item do I have that the Lord has need of?
