"Amen, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is reich to enter the kingdom of God."
Phew, right? How many times have we hear that line and for once been thankful we weren't rich! Of course we know that Jesus is not talking about just money here, and he is not talking about being rich in the way we think of people as rich.
This analogy of a camel passing through an eye of a needle gets me every time. I know how hard it is to get the darn thread through, but we know it is impossible to fit a camel through. Jesus was leaving no doubt that it can't be done, at least not by us. Upon more reading, however, I discovered that Jesus was talking about something just a little different, but even cooler!
Apparently there was a tiny gate into the city which was used for travelers when they couldn't get into the main gate. In order to get through it, a camel would have to be stripped of all the baggage it carried and get on it's knees to crawl through. How much cooler of an image is this. To pass into the Kingdom we have to be stripped of our baggage and junk and get on our knees before God!
I love how human Peter is during this teaching. He is like, "hold up dude, we gave up everything to follow you, what do we get?" He almost sounds like a child wanting to be praised for doing right and wanting to "get a cookie or medal" for choosing the right path.
Jesus reassures Peter while assuring all of us that if we sacrifice the things of this world, if we deny oursleves and follow Jesus, we will be rewarded. He also tells us we won't just be rewarded, but we will get 100 times more than we had to give up!
I love the Math in God's kingdom!
That being said, we know that a little sacrifice here and now will give us more than we can ever imagine, yet we still struggle! We still have such a hard time not falling into the ways of the World.
I see this all the time with health and fitness. We don't want to deny ourselves food and drink that we know is good for us in the end. I think our big problem is in our lack of patience and living in a "show me now" kind of world.
We don't see the immediate effects of that alcohol or those cookies, so we don't think they are a big deal. We don't value our health the way we should because we can't see and feel it right away.
We don't want to deny ourselves from some of the worldly pleasures presented to us because we feel like we have so much time before we see the consequences and/or the reward. We don't like to wait, when if we only would we would gain so, so, so much!
Jesus finishes this passage by saying "But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
This last line is both comforting and a little frustrating to me at the same time. I find comfort in the idea that it doesn't matter when we come to know Christ and finally get our act together, as long as we do! If I am honest though, how many of us have been a little frustrated or envious at the person who lived a very long, sinful and worldly life, just to come to know Jesus at the end. They still "get in" to heaven like we do, but it somehow doesn't seem fair. Now, I know it's a ludicrous thought, and the more I have grown in my faith, the more I am not envious of the one who is living without Christ in their life, but, I am willing to bet the thought has crossed your mind at some point.
What "riches" do you hold onto too tightly and let it hinder your relationship with God? What earthly desires are you still clinging too instead of looking to God for strength in overcoming?
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