“The Lord has need of it.” This is the response Jesus tells his disciples to say when questioned about taking someone’s donkey. Reading it this time, it struck me that the Lord had a need.
I would certainly say that the Lord needs nothing. He is complete in Himself. He didn’t create humans because He needed them. But, here He needs something.
God “needing” us is part of the mystery of the gospel, part of the wonder of who God is. Like good parents who let their kids help even though it’s hard, messier, and takes longer, God lets us participate in His work on earth. His design is set up to need us to participate. He set up this whole thing so we’d do the work alongside Him.
The elect will be saved, but they will be saved because others prayed for them and shared the gospel with them and taught them. We are meant to be part of the work. It’s part of how God teaches us who He is. It’s part of how God trains us for reigning with Him.
In this story, it’s a donkey God needs. What we have, we offer to God. What we have, God gave us in the first place. It all is held with loose hands and offered to God for His purposes.
All our time, talents, energy, relationships, work, ministry, money, possessions, it all gets offered to God for Him to use for His purposes, to His glory.
Do you put it all on the table? Can you let any of it go without debate, without understanding the reason, other than, “The Lord has need of it?”
The Tribulation 