By Nancy Rempel
The wretched grey donkey panted wide-eyed, nostrils flaring. Suspended in his harness between the wooden wagon shafts, its body drooped like a kitten hanging by the scruff of its neck. The load of sugarcane behind him, weighing hundreds of pounds, towered over him. Despite the cursing and beating of the donkey’s master, the laws of physics had triumphed. This scene is common in the Asian country we lived in. Donkey masters, desperate in a culture of scarcity, resort to cruelty and unreasonableness. I once saw a horse with a broken leg forced to pull passengers in a wagon.
Trapped in systems of legalistic abuse, working to please unknowable gods for an uncertain future defines most of our world. Like our little donkey, people labor under unbearable codes of conduct, looking over their shoulders for approval, comparing themselves with others, and fearing punishment.
Jesus calls us out of the futility of legalism into grace.
Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden,
and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 NASB
He offers us the gift of eternal life, received by faith alone in Him for it.
[Jesus said,] “Most assuredly, I say to you,
he who believes in Me has everlasting life.”
John 6:47 NKJV
He pats a place next to Him and invites us into a whole new way of living.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Matthew 11:29-30 NASB
Cindy Benson of Benson Ranch in Gold Hill, Oregon has been raising miniature donkeys for years. She describes the training of donkeys as a relationship built on trust, affection, and patience.
The first lesson is wearing a halter. In the stall, pressed close to the donkey, Cindy cuddles the animal, an arm on either side of its neck. Whichever way the donkey moves, Cindy moves with him. She speaks calmly, touching his nose with the halter until he is ready to wear it. For the donkey, the event is about closeness and affection.1
Next he learns to be tied to a post on a short rope without fussing—to abide. If a donkey can’t learn to stand patiently tied to a post, it cannot be trusted to pull a cart.
Cindy tells of a young jack (male donkey) who resisted post training, throwing himself on the ground until he hung by his head. Cindy, knowing he was not in danger, waited, out of sight. Realizing he was out of options, the donkey got up, shook himself off, and stood quietly.
“That was my cue…I untied him, gave him a little grain, and spent some time bonding with him…He never did this again…There were times he got fussy, but he never saw the need to take it that far again. Training is…a cerebral pursuit, all wrapped up with partnership and respect, not brute force.” 2
Abide in Me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine,
so neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
John 15:4 NASB
To abide in Christ is a relationship with a kind Master who keeps His promises and bears my burdens. To abide in Him is to live, by faith, in the real-time consequences of my unbreakable union with Him.
If I doubt my salvation, I cling to Jesus’ promise of eternal life (John 3:16). When sin overwhelms, I remember I am dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11).
When the devil oppresses, I stand in Jesus’ triumph over Satan on the cross (Colossians 2:15). When rule-keeping eclipses walking by the Spirit, Romans 7:4 reminds me I have died to the Law in Christ.
When my heart rankles against authority, 1 Peter 3 reveals the power and beauty of submission. When anxiety suffocates, Jesus restores my peace in prayer (Philippians 4:6-7). When I am ashamed of my weakness, I remember that weakness attracts Christ’s power (2 Corinthians 12:10).
The world is consumed with labels: Enneagram personality types, psychological profiles, disorders, triggers, and familial traits. But labels become traps that freeze us in a single state. “I’m just like this,” is the language of settling. Abiding in Christ, I don’t settle. I change.
For those whom He foreknew,
He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son,
so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
Romans 8:29 NASB
Heavy machinery roared, men yelled, and the greasy smell of hot tar pierced the air. For two little kids, it felt like the circus had come to town. Crouched in the grassy ditch beside the road, my little brother and I were hypnotized. They were paving our road! Steam rose from the hot, bubbling tar; men shoveled gravel onto the road; the compressor on the bitumen sprayer hissed. Back and forth, the workers sprayed sticky black bitumen onto loose gravel. A drum roller thundered forward, flattening the tar and gravel into a shiny, dense surface. We were lost in a magical world.
Until our mother called us inside. As we neared the front porch where Mom stood, her hands flew to her face. “Look at you two! Get in here.” While we had been absorbed in the road-making spectacle, airborne tar speckles had spattered our faces, hair, and clothing. We had not felt the tiny tar particles, nor noticed them on each other. Gazing intently at the road work, we had been transformed.
But we all, with unveiled face,
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,
just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18 NASB
When I believe in Jesus for eternal life, I gain a gentle and humble master who invites me to nestle close and learn from Him. He speaks to me through His Word, the Bible. He listens to my questions, my fears, and my cries. Huddled together thus with Him through life’s ups and downs, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I resemble Him.
- https://bensonranch.com/articles/tying-your-donkey-a-great-training-tool/ ↩︎
- https://bensonranch.com/articles/tying-your-donkey-a-great-training-tool/ ↩︎
Nancy and her husband have been serving as missionaries in Pakistan, India, and North America for over three decades. They currently live in Western Canada, where she enjoys writing and the great outdoors. Recently Nancy published her first book, WHOOSH Out of My Head and Into GOD’S.
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