Thursday, May 31, 2007

a noble steed


At times, I feel as though my whole life is a struggle to not let down those who are somehow convinced that I am better at certain things than I actually am.

I don't want to let them down. I don't want to reveal the truth; the truth that I am more often than not, completely clueless and hanging on by a thread.

And sometimes...sometimes I lose that struggle. This past Sunday morning, I felt like I lost a bit of that struggle. And it hurts when I do, because you know what I feel like?

An ass.

I feel like a complete ass.

However...and what a strange and glorious truth this is...there is a great joy in being an ass. You know why? Because God loves to use them.

God loves to use asses. And he did so all through out the Bible. He used them to carry burdens and lighten the load of His people. He used the jawbone of one to help Samson kill 1,000 Philistines. On one occasion, He even choose to speak through one.

And what did Jesus choose to ride into Jerusalem for His triumphant entry? Yep. An ass. And I just wonder if the reason Jesus choose an ass instead of a stallion or a steed, was because He didn't want the horse to think, for one second, that the all the praise and adulation might be for him and not Christ; that the roar of the crowd or the excitement of the people had anything to do his beauty or his impressiveness. I wonder if the reason Jesus choose an ass was because He didn't want the vehicle He was using, to accomplish His will for His glory, to hear cheering and mistakenly stand up and say, "Wow! For me?!"

Regardless of who is convinced of what about you or about me, the struggle to keep up the facade and look good is fruitless, because the truth is...we are all asses.

But take heart, because I think that might be exactly what God is looking for.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good post, man. FWIW, and this is only in the historical context, not the larger, God-who-controls-history-context, when a conqueror rode into the land which he had conquered, what he rode in was a big sign to the people about what kind of ruler he was, and ultimately how his kingdom would affect them. A warrior king would ride a battle tested stallion, for example. The ass was a wonderfully typical JC curveball: "Yep, I'm the guy, but as I've been saying for several years, I'm not the guy you think I am." And thank His Father that He was and is not. Like you, I desperately need the God of asses.

Going Weston said...

Good stuff man...I've never really thought about that before.

A lot of Christians today don't think God discipline's people or humbles people, but I think he has to. If he didn't put us in our places, we'd act like stallions caring Christ and start to think that we have something to do with everyone cheering. We need to be reminded every once and a while that Christ is the sole object for praise, never us.

From an Ass to an Ass...cheers!

Shelley said...

That was the best post about being an ass I have ever read! Makes me want to be an ass!

The Anonymous Human said...

If you're going to be an ass...might as well be a foxworthy ass, eh?

Betsy said...

i love that ass. too far?

Anonymous said...

um, yeah.

Betsy said...

: P

Anonymous said...

For the record, Betsy that wasn't too far in my book. You made a convenant to love that ass and you should stick to it.

Anonymous said...

On a seperate note, there is not one day that i walk into the office of TRH feeling like anything but an ass. I have absolutely no idea what i am doing and have to fight to even continue on the journey every day. The helpless, "I am absolutely nobody" feeling is the worst and best thing i ever felt. I get where you are coming from-totally.

Anonymous said...

Ah, Donkey. You might have impostor syndrome.

michaelCODY said...

We'll know in 9 months! :P