Let It Go

“Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there.  Untie it and bring it here.”  Mark 11:2

Way back, when I was four, I stole a blue block from my great-aunt’s store.  It was just sitting there, so lonely, all by itself by the cash register.  The block wasn’t for sale; it was just an out of place object I gave a home in my pocket.  Since I knew shoplifting was wrong, I felt bad for being sneaky but soothed my conscience with the comfort that if Aunt Marilou had known I wanted it, she would have handed it over herself.  All was well until my mother noticed the block’s presence and asked about its origin, at which point I dissolved into a puddle of guilty tears and was immediately marched back to the scene of my crime.  

However, I’m not so sure the return trek and subsequent confession/apology resulted in the stern consequences my mom had in mind, for as soon as Aunt Marylou found out I took the block, she said, “Oh, honey, here’s a red one that matches it. Now you can have them both!”  I’m not trying to justify my theft, but every time I read the story of Jesus’ disciples carrying off the colt, my great-aunt’s gracious generosity (on my day of doom) comes to mind. 

Jesus was headed into Jerusalem, but this was no ordinary journey.  He had come to the city for one purpose—t0 give His life for ours, but before Fridays jeers, He would hear Sunday’s cheers, and it was time.  Jesus knew the prophesy:  “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!  Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!  See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey”(Zech 9:9).  And Jesus knew just where one was.

“Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there.  Untie it and bring it here,” He said to His disciples (Mk 11:2). The two who had been sent, went, and “found it just as he has told them”(Lk 19:32).  Mark writes that as they untied the donkey, “some standing there” asked what they were doing.  Luke lets us know that the ones who asked were the animal’s owners, so the question was more like, “What in the world do you think you’re doing waltzing up here like you own the place and taking something that isn’t yours?!?”  But the disciples’ short and simple reply, “The Lord needs it,” was answer enough for them to let it go—no more questions asked (Lk 19:34).

The story can be a bit disturbing unless we think deep.  The disciples weren’t thieving; they were retrieving—retrieving because the real and rightful owner was the One who would be riding.  As we consider this concept, it would behoove us to remember that it’s all His.  Whatever we have is simply on loan while we live on earth.  Whether it’s donkeys or deposits or our time, talents, opportunities, and abilities, our resources ultimately belong to God, and when He wants to use them, we should be willing.  We certainly shouldn’t take what’s not ours (like I did with the blue block), but we should be gracious and generous (like Aunt Marilou was with the red block) with what’s God’s—and that’s everything.

Don’t tie your knots too tight because when the Lord needs something, we need to let it go.