Palm Sunday

There are so many lessons to be learned on Palm Sunday.  The fickleness of human nature - how we can lay down palms and sing praises to our King only to crucify him a week later when he doesn't meet our expectations.  The humility of our Divine Creator - taking on human form and riding to his death to save us from our sins.  But for me the most convicting lesson comes before the Triumphal Entry even begins.

When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied thereand a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 

It's no secret that I am a "goodie-goodie"...that I pride myself on doing the right things the right way, even when it's hard.  I like to believe that, were I a disciple, I would be the first one to lay down my palm branch.  Unfortunately, it is also not a secret that I am a shameful "people-pleaser"...that my biggest struggle in my walk with God is that in my depraved heart, I care more about what other people think than I do about what He thinks.  Were I a disciple, I wonder if I would even been in the crowd!

Even today, the thought of having to walk into a busy city and take something that doesn't belong to me...without asking!!...almost causes a panic attack.  And heaven forbid the owner sees me taking it!!  There is no, "I'm sorry...may I please borrow this for a moment?"  At least let me pay for the dumb thing!!  But the command is to take them and only say "The Lord has need of them."  And therein lies the dilemma...obey the command and believe, or run away and pretend that grace and mercy will apply to a coward.

As I said before, were I a disciple, I don't think I would've been in the crowd...but lucky for me, God knows my limits.  Lucky for me, he starts me off small.  Read the Bible and simply do what it says.  Once I solidify that, He sprinkles in a few circumstances that force me to choose between self-preservation and His Word.  And as the years go by and I watch the world around me crumble under the delusion of sin, I have something to cling to...Him!

As I watch the next generation of "people-pleaser" uncomfotably cling to his palm branch, I pray that the day will come when he waves that branch with confidence in front of his worldly audience knowing that his assurance lies in the commands of a sovereign and gracious Savior.

We all love to wave the palm branch, but are you willing to go and get the donkey?