I absolutely love reading Aesop’s Fables.  You can read many of them at AesopFables.com.  I am not certain that I will stick with it, but I thought it may be a fun idea to post a few of these fables every week and relate them to the gospel.  Today is the story of the Ass and the Image.  (For the immature don’t forget that an ass is a donkey):

An Ass once carried through the streets of a city a famous wooden Image, to be placed in one of its Temples. As he passed along, the crowd made lowly prostration before the Image. The Ass, thinking that they bowed their heads in token of respect for himself, bristled up with pride, gave himself airs, and refused to move another step. The driver, seeing him thus stop, laid his whip lustily about his shoulders and said, "O you perverse dull-head! it is not yet come to this, that men pay worship to an Ass."

They are not wise who give to themselves the credit due to others.

What a beautiful lesson about idolatry this is; why do I think that the world would worship an ass such as myself.  To the Lord of glory belongs all credit. 

I know in Aesop’s fable he is speaking of a wooden image (which is more detestable to worship than a donkey), but I cannot help but think of the colt carrying Jesus and it’s relationship to us carrying the gospel.  What is the colt’s job?  To lower it’s head, trod along, and carry the Lord of glory on his back.  It’s not about him.  It’s not as if the Lord could not walk himself.  It’s not as if the cheers and the “Hosanna’s” are for the colt.  The colt is to do his job and that is carry the King. 

Are we not the same way?  Our job is to bring glory and honor to the King.  It is not to stop and soak up the praises of the crowds.  Our job is not to win converts to our way of living.  Our job is not to give ourselves credit that is due to Jesus.  Our job is to proclaim the gospel, to carry it on our backs to the nations.  Our job is to carry the King to the nations so that they may praise Him and not us. 

God speaks through donkey’s but not so man can worship the donkey.  He speaks through donkey’s so that men will worship Him.  Don’t forget that.