Just Because

It is Palm Sunday, when we celebrate Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, riding on the back of a donkey.  The people waved palm branches and cried out "Hosanna!" which does not mean "Hurray!" as I once thought, but "LORD, please save us."

But we seem to forget the moments before that procession, when Jesus told two of His disciples to go to a certain house, and there would be a certain colt tied outside to a certain door post, ready and waiting.  He told them  if anyone asks, say, "The LORD has need of it."

I think of the donkey's owner, getting up early to feed and groom and lead that young animal to a distinct spot.  He had no idea what was yet to come, why he was doing it, nor how God would use it in a powerful way, still remembered two thousand years later.  But he did it.  And the donkey was ready.

The previous week, a householder felt compelled to clean a rarely-used room above the stable, scrubbing and preparing it, as if for company.  I imagine his wife working alongside him, saying, "And why exactly are we doing this?"  He had no idea, but the Upper Room was ready.

And  a year before, a young mom pushed a hastily-made lunch bag into her reluctant son's hands as he was leaving for the day.   "I don't need this," he said, spotting a snack of fish and rolls in the sack. "Take it anyway," she said, wondering herself why she had even bothered making it.

Late that night, I imagine the son rushing home, shouting, "Mom, you wouldn't believe what happened today."

It is not always our place to know what and where and why, but to be prepared for God's leading, even in that which may make no sense to us at all.  Even the most ordinary efforts and days, God will redeem for His extraordinary purposes.

There are times when God says, "Go."  There are times when God says "No."  And there are times when He says, "Just get it ready."  And we have no idea for what.

Just because...The LORD has need of it.