Our donkey escaped from our pasture last night. When my husband got home from work, he got
his mud boots on and went out towards the pasture to lure the donkey to the
gate with a bucket of food. I looked out
the window and I saw him trying to get the donkey through the gate while all
the horses began to try to get to the food bucket in his hand. I saw my husband outside and he was alone and
he was struggling. I knew that he would
never get that donkey through the gate by himself, and as soon as I saw him
struggling, my natural reaction was to run to his aid and be a source of
strength for him. I grabbed a bag of
peppermints (because donkeys love peppermints), and rushed downstairs to get my
mud boots on and ran out to the pasture to help him. With a food bucket in his hand and peppermints
in mine, we worked together to lure the donkey into one of our side
pastures. He opened and shut gates and I
stayed with the donkey, keeping his attention.
Either one of us could have held the food bucket, either one of us could
have held the peppermints, either one of us could have opened and shut the
gates and either one of us could have held the donkey's attention. But our minds weren't focused on who had to
hold the bucket or the peppermints or the gates or the donkey. Our minds were focused on working together, getting the donkey where he needed to be and that's why we succeeded.
I didn't expect my husband to lead out, bearing a greater
responsibility to get the donkey back into the pasture. My husband didn't expect me to stand there
and wait for him to give me orders to submit to. My husband didn't tell me I wasn't allowed to
open the gate or hold the food bucket, and I didn't tell him that I was the
only one who could hold the donkey's attention and give it peppermints. We didn't do that because, number one, that
would have been ridiculous; and number two, our concern was focused on the goal
that needed to be accomplished, not each other's role in how we accomplished
it. And the donkey didn't follow us
because he preferred to be led by me as a woman, or by my husband as a man. The donkey followed us because it wanted what
we had in our hands. The donkey went
where it was supposed to go because of what we gave him, not because of who we
were.
When Jesus wanted to communicate complex spiritual
principles, He never gave a theological treatise, He always used simple
life-examples. He spoke in parables and
used easily relatable subjects to express profound spiritual truths. The church would do well to learn something
from our donkey about how "church" should be done and how men and women
were created to work together in fluid, eternal unity, rather than divided by invariant,
cultural role.
Jesus said the goal is to "Go out into all the world
and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mark 16:15) and to "Go and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have
commanded you" (Matt 28:19,20). Jesus
made no distinction of dividing this task among people based on their
gender. Scripture states that it is the
Spirit Who enables each one of us to carry out these tasks, and not one of
those lists of spiritual gifts is divided among genders (Eph 4:11,12; Rom
12:6-8; 1 Cor 12:28). For too long the
church has bickered among itself on issues that bear no fruit for Christ, and
even more so, neuter the churches efficacy and witness.
Where does the authority of God's word reside and from
whence comes its power? In the person
speaking it, or in the word itself? If
you say "in the person speaking it," then you are a blasphemer,
attributing to man what only belongs to God.
If you say "in the word itself," then you concede that the
person speaking it is of no regard, which makes their gender irrelevant. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
"And it was He Who gave some to be apostles, some to
be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be shepherds and teachers, to
equip the saints for works of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until
we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we
mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ." (Eph 4:11-13)
"We have different gifts according to the grace
given us. If one's gift is prophecy, let them use it in proportion to their faith;
if it is serving, let them serve; if it is teaching, let them teach; if it is
encouraging, let them encourage; if it is giving, let them give generously; if
it is leading, let them lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let them
do it cheerfully." (Rom 12:6-8)
"Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is
a member of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles,
second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts
of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues." (1 Cor
12:27,28)
"As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each
of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve one another."
(1 Pet 4:10)
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