Being A Donkey For Christ

Today is Palm Sunday and it is also April Fool’s Day. In his sermon for Palm Sunday, at Queenstown Lutheran Church, Rev Lim Kim Hock spoke on the significance of Palm Sunday. He drew our attention to Jesus riding on a donkey as a symbol to bring peace rather than to conquer. I was reminded of how easy it is to forget that we are only the donkeys that Christ is riding on. As it is April Fool’s Day, it also occurred to me that it is better to be a fool in God’s eyes rather than to be wise in the eyes of the world.

By God’s grace, my brother agreed to go to the service at New Creation Church in the evening. The pastor, Lawrence Lim, made the point that we are new creations in Christ. Indeed, God is always at work in our lives. Unfortunately, in good times we take His blessings for granted and become self absorbed and fearful of losing our blessings. In bad times we struggle to find answers in our pain and suffering.

We seek to obey the "Great Commission" and we try hard to "sell" the gospel and to "win” others for God. But as we do so, we forget our calling to work out our salvation with fear and trembling and to remember that God is working in us to fulfill His will. We can be His witnesses of love or be the poor examples of a people with hardened hearts, with ears that cannot hear and eyes that cannot see.

I was also encouraged as I read the following words in Ron Dunn’s book, “When Heaven Is Silent”:

“You may never be as good a parent as you desire, but if it is in your heart, do your best and trust God with the rest. You may never accomplish great things for God, as the world counts greatness but is it in your heart?”

The good news, which the writer of the Upper Room devotional for today shares with us, is that “it may seem that we are anonymous in the world’s eyes, but Jesus knows who and where we are. He may also need our willingness to serve Him selflessly without public praise or acknowledgement.”

So what is most important is whether God’s love is in our hearts. Our lives make sense only in the context of God’s love for the world. Our stories are but HiStory of Grace in our lives. Let us remember that we are only the donkeys carrying the Saviour of the world. May our lives lead those around us to shout “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna” in response to the story of our lives of triumph as well as sacrifice.

Let us make the following prayer of Ignatius Loyola real in our lives:

"Give me only a love for You and the gift of Your grace; then I am rich enough, and ask for nothing more."