Something Borrowed

Mark 11:2 (ESV): “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it”.
     Jesus was about to start his triumphant ride into Jerusalem when he instructed his disciples to locate and confiscate his mode of transportation. He rode upon a donkey’s colt; being a beast of burden it looked contemptible, not of very good pedigree; and being a colt, never before ridden, was probably rough and untrimmed. Known for their stubborn nature, no doubt this untrained beast was most likely rude and ungovernable and possibly unruly enough to disturb and disgrace the seriousness of the occasion.
     As I read about this part of the Passion Week story I thought about the borrowing of Jesus. I am a firm declarer, as stated in Deuteronomy 15, that I shall be the head and not the tail, the lender and not the borrower. But I had to reconsider some things when I thought about the fact that Jesus was a borrower in a certain sense. Jesus borrowed a child’s lunch to feed a multitude; he went upon the water in a borrowed boat; ate the Passover in a borrowed room; was buried in a borrowed tomb and here we see that he rode on a borrowed colt.
     Some might give a sideways glance when people ask to borrow things. We are so used to our things being mistreated or not returned that we often do not like to lend things out. From the recipient’s point of view, borrowing might be the difference between freedom and captivity. Over the past few years as I have lived and testified about the transformative power of God’s grace on my life, I have been on the receiving end of many things borrowed. Borrowed housing, borrowed technology, borrowed funds and in almost every case, it was God who spoke to the hearts of the givers and did the ‘borrowing’ on my behalf. Whether it was pride or just the fact that I had always been able to take care of myself and my family, I often found it difficult to ask for things; so I truly believed that God allowed or put me into positions of being without until I accepted the reality that my being in the borrower’s seat allowed someone else to be in the giver’s chair. It has been a humbling and soul strengthening experience to be the ‘borrower’. I realized that we are our brother’s keeper and how can we ever experience the joy of giving if there is no one to receive. There can be dignity and humility in being the borrower. Do not be ashamed!
     Every day is a good day; it is up to us to make it a power-packed GREAT day! Don’t be distracted – stay on your purpose! Be blessed! Dr. JoAnn