Day 6 begins the 2nd trimester in our journey through the nativity. Did you catch my joke? 15 days divided by 3 equals 5 day sections. There's a baby coming at the end of it. I know, funny stuff right? I should think about a career in comedy. While some of you struggle with that sophisticated joke, the rest of us will unwrap Mary's faithful steed...the donkey.
Most nativity scenes have a few animals. Shepherds come with sheep, wise men rode on camels, and there is always a donkey even though there is no proof Mary rode on one on her way to the Bethlehem. The donkey has become nativity scene cannon; try searching for "Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem" in your favorite search engine and finding a picture that doesn't have a donkey. When I was minister of Music at FBC Jennings, the star of the Preschool/Kindergarten Christmas program was the little gray donkey. "Little gray donkey, clip clop clip clop, all the way to Bethlehem..." Then the lucky preschooler would hee-haw and immediately wonder why all the adults were laughing. Since there always seems to be a donkey, let's go ahead and pull him out to see what spiritual lesson we can find.
Some websites have stated 70 miles between Nazareth and Bethlehem, while others have given 100 miles. I'm not sure which is correct, and I honestly didn't feel like pulling out a map and string and measuring. Regardless of which it is, it was not a short trip. It could have taken upwards of a week for these two travelers to cover that distance, especially with Mary being pregnant. It's possible that Mary would not have been able to walk that far in her condition. It's possible that Joseph was worried how he would manage. It's quite possible that God could have furnished an animal for Mary to ride. And this brings me to the spiritual truth for today. God provides for our needs, especially when He gives us a task to do.
Pull your Bible out (you should know that's coming by now) and turn to Matthew 6:25-34. Here we find a portion of Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount:
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." New International Version
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| "you heavenly Father feeds them..." |
This section of the Sermon on the Mount deals specifically with worry. What causes us worry in life? We don't trust that our needs or wants will be taken care of. In verse 30, Jesus reveals this to be a faith problem. We worry because we don't have enough faith in God. My friends, if God calls us to do something, He will help us to do it. We must have the faith to step out and pursue the audacious things God asks of us without fear of how we will do it. The ancient Israelites give us a stunning example of this in Numbers 13 and 14. For those unfamiliar with the story, God had brought the Israelites out of Egypt where they were slaves and was giving them the land that He had promised to their ancestor Abraham. Moses sent 12 men to scout out the land at God's order. They traversed the land for 40 days and came back to the rest of the Israelites with their report in Numbers 13:27-33:
27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” NIV
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| "Caleb silenced the people..." |
10 of the 12 looked at the circumstances and decided that it was impossible. 2 of the men, Caleb and Joshua saw the same circumstances, but they factored in the Lord God who had sent the plagues on Egypt and opened up the Red Sea. They knew that the power of God far outweighed giant men and huge walls. In the Numbers 14:1-4, we see the nation of Israel's unfortunate response:
"1 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” NIV
Moses (their leader), Aaron (the high priest), and Joshua (Moses appointed successor) begged the people to obey God. But the community threatened to stone them. Not pelt them with pebbles, but to throw rocks the size and weight of bricks and cinder blocks at them to kill them. Here is God's response in verse 11:
"The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?" NIV
The miracles and wonders that God had performed for the Israelites were astounding. One of the largest rivers in the world turned to blood. He made animals and insects rampage the land. He destroyed Pharaoh's army. He guided them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Everyday, food fell from the sky for them to eat. God was not asking them to trust Him blindly, He had already proved Himself. An entire generation of Israelites lost out on God's promise because they lacked the faith to follow Him. Their children trusted, however, and God provided.
As we look back at Jesus' Sermon in Matthew, it's also important not to read something into these verses that's not there. Jesus is not saying to sit back, do nothing, and God will take care of you. God does not promote laziness, but quite the opposite. Look at Colossians 3:23:
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" NIV
God expects us to work, and to work hard for Him. He does not expect us to work ourselves to death out of worry that we won't have enough. Jesus is saying if you do your best in being who God wants you to be, if you follow Him with your whole heart, He will provide for you. And as we stressed earlier, if God calls you to do something, he will equip you to do it; He will aid you along the way. There are more than a few examples of this in scripture. Abraham found a ram to sacrifice instead of his son Isaac. The Israelites followed Moses and God parted the Red Sea. Ruth followed Naomi and God provided a husband in Boaz. David stood against the blaspheming giant and God helped guide the stone. Elijah needed food. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego needed saving from the fire. Daniel needed the lions mouths closed.
I hear some of you offering a big "but" right about now. "But what about me? I've been a Christian and followed all that God has asked, and yet I still suffer from ____." Or maybe you've lost a loved one. Maybe no matter how hard you try, life doesn't seem to work out. I hear what you are saying, and I understand. More importantly, God hears what you are saying, and He understands. One of the great things about our God is that He understands what it's like to be human. While He was here on earth as Jesus, He faced the same trials and temptations we do. He lost loved ones. He got sick. Once He went 40 days without eating. He died a horrible death while the sin of every person that has ever live and will ever live was placed upon Him. He understands our pain. And ultimately he has already fixed all of our problems. In John 16:33, Jesus is wrapping up his final teaching with the disciples. He says:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” NIV
Jesus promised the men who would continue His work that they would have troubles. But he clarified it with "in this world." While we are here, we are going to have problems. Life is going to throw us some curves. We are going to get sick. We are going to lose money, or jobs, or family. If you hear your preacher tell you different...then you need to find a new preacher. But Jesus gives hope. He says He has overcome the world. This world is not it. For followers of God, there is something else somewhere else. And in that Somewhere Else, God is on the throne, Jesus sits on His right side, and we are children of the King. Read John's vision of what comes after this earth in Revelation 21:3-7:
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”We will find ultimate healing once this life is over. When God establishes the new heaven and the new earth, all the old troubles will be gone. This where we experience God's complete providence.
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children." NIV
A few days ago, the Angels reminded us that if God says something, it will happen. The donkey figurine reminds us that if God calls us to do something, He will provide what we need to accomplish it. Ultimately, the little gray donkey can remind us that God's overarching plan for providing for us was in the person of Jesus through his sacrifice on the cross, and is realized in the hope and surety of heaven to come. So don't hide the donkey in the back; he's earned his spot out in the open. Hope you join me again tomorrow.
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| Day 6 - The Donkey |
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