My human was reading aloud again yesterday.
Voice soft…
Steady…
Something about a crowd…
A King…
And a road covered in cloaks and branches.
I do a fair bit of thinking when he reads… and I know what it’s like to expect something big.
Every time I hear a car pull in…
I know it’s going to be something exciting.
Maybe food.
Maybe a ride.
Maybe a new toy.
I build it up in my mind… tail already wagging before I even see it.
And sometimes… it’s just not what I expected.
The crowd that day…
They heard the sound before they saw the Savior.
Whispers turning into shouts—
“He’s coming!”
“The King!”
I imagine their hearts were racing like mine does when I hear the garage door open.
They were ready.
Ready for strength.
Ready for power.
Ready for a Warrior King to finally set things right.
But then…
He came into view.
Not on a war horse.
Not with an army.
But on a donkey.
Slow.
Humble.
Peaceful.
And I wonder… if the wagging stopped for just a second.
Because He wasn’t what they expected.
But… He was exactly what they needed.
I’ve noticed something about my human…
Sometimes he asks for one thing…
but what he really needs is something else.
He may ask for comfort…
but what he needs is surrender.
He may ask for answers…
but what he need is trust.
He may ask for things to change around him…
but what he needs is a change inside.
That’s the kind of King Jesus is.
He doesn’t come to fit into our plans…
He comes to rescue us from them.
The crowd wanted freedom from Rome…
But Jesus came to set them free from something more…
their own sin…
their own hearts…
the distance between them and God.
They didn’t get the Savior they wanted.
They got the Savior they needed.
So did we.
That week, Jesus didn’t come charging in to fix everything on the outside.
He came near.
Near enough to be rejected.
Near enough to be wounded.
Near enough to be nailed to a cross.
Because real rescue… the kind that lasts forever… doesn’t start with changing circumstances.
It starts with changing hearts.
From cheers…
to silence…
to a cross…
The road he was on led somewhere much heavier than a throne.
But He rode anyway.
For them.
For my human.
For you.
For a simple old dog like me to sit and wonder.
And that is something to praise Him for.
Jesus said something like that too, didn’t He?
If the people stayed silent… the stones would cry out.
Creation itself can’t hold it in.
And neither should we.
Maybe today we don’t overthink it.
Maybe today we don’t try to shape Jesus into what we want Him to be.
Maybe today we draw near.
Sit at His feet.
Walk beside Him.
Trust the road He chose.
Even if it’s not the one we expected.
Because He’s still the King.
Still good.
Still loving.
Still saving.
And if we won’t say it…
Don’t be surprised if the rocks start preaching.
He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out!” - Luke 19:40 HCSB
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
