Notice to the reader: another in the series from “If They Could Talk” follows; the story of our redemption through the eye-witness accounts of animals who found themselves at key redemptive moments. The target audience is children; that they might better understand the Bible and God’s plan of salvation as it unfolds in Scripture. Other eye-witness accounts are here.
Friends,
It seems but yesterday, but alas, it was nigh several years ago; yet I shall never forget what my animal eyes saw that night.
The evening was crisp, and the wind was quick. Many summers I have cursed my fur; this night I was grateful for its cover. A young foal at the time, my work was still light, yet the days still long as I learned my beast of burden trade. I was tired, and my body cried forrest. Breath steamed from my nostrils, condensing on my nose and served up an incessant drip of the warm saltiness that only begged further my thirst.
Coming over the last hill, I began to froth freely; the day’s work taken a greater part of me than realized. Water, straw, andrest were my only thoughts.
As I drew closer to my shelter, I could see something was very much the matter. Busyness surrounded it. My animal friends encircled the stable. A dim light cast shadows of intruders within. “Of all nights, why clean the stalls tonight?” I groaned.
The closer I came, the shadows gave way to faces; one a man, the other a young woman. The woman, though seated, was uncomfortable; the man stood near. This woman was in labor with child.
The little family to be was not going to receive sympathy from me this night. I was cold, tired, and hungry; I was not the imposition, they were. I pushed through two cows and knocked over a sheep—positioned now to bellow my case. Before able to voice contention, the woman birthed the child. I paused as the man wrapped the babe in cloth and laid Him in a manger—my manger!
I had seen enough. What little sympathy I may have had vanished. I turned only to discover that more humans now found my stable. A few dressed stately, most were common folk from the fields. “What is going on?” No one responded to my inquiry. All were caught up in the birth of this human child. “What’s a baby doing with animals, anyway?” Again, no answer; all were lost in the still.
“Enough is enough,” I brayed. “I am tired, I am hungry, and I am cold. No baby is more important than a full belly and a soft bed.”
A pig bristled hard against me, “Donkey, don’t you know who this is? This is He who the prophets have spoken and man calls Messiah. Creation has groaned for this night, yet you groan only for yourself. Bow your head, donkey; greet your King.”
Pig, never known for tact, got my attention.
And it is why I now write you. You humans celebrate this Messiah’s birth on Christmas morn. Let not your lives vale His. For as the Holy Scriptures proclaim: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
Celebrate His birth, my friend. I almost forgot; you mustn’t.
God Bless,
Donkey
Pastor Rich Hamlin December 22, 2011