“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:23-26).

Untitled.png

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:23-26). There was a time when I viewed Jesus’ statements primarily as an indictment of the rich (conveniently ignoring the “with God all things are possible” part), but over time, I have come to recognize my shortsightedness. The principle Jesus was teaching was much broader than monetary wealth; the principle applies to me too; the principle applies to everyone.

Why does God bless some of us with more than we need? Is it so we might live in excess, showing the world how much God blesses those who love him? Not at all! God blesses some of us with more, so we may, in turn, give to others without (Luke 3:10-11); that we might love our neighbor. But monetary wealth is just part of the story, and missing that was a huge part of my shortsightedness. The Eye of the Needle refers to a smaller gate in Jerusalem that was opened at night after the main gate was closed. A camel could only pass through this gate once all the baggage it was carrying had been removed. The baggage included material belongings, of course, but I think baggage also speaks to a larger spiritual ideal. The lesson Jesus was ultimately conveying referred to stumbling blocks that hold us back spiritually and bind us to this world; this baggage, no matter what it may be, to which we cling, Christ has obliterated at the Cross.

Christ’s entire ministry was predicated on giving rather than receiving; we’ll be known by our fruits (Matthew 7:16). Material excess does tend to eclipse humility, but who are the rich, anyway? To be fair, I’ve never asked my employer for a decrease in salary, nor have I deliberately worked for a demotion; I’ve spent most of my career working my way up the ladder, not down. I realize that the wealthy young man who went away from Jesus saddened, in Matthew 19, could have just as easily been me. But again, the story goes beyond the money I make and the position I hold; these are mere fruits and not the root, and no doubt, the same applies to the young man Jesus spoke to that day.

There are wealthy people, throughout scripture, noted for their righteousness, Joseph of Arimathea, to name one, so I’m not picking on people with financial means. Wealth may be among the baggage I need to unload, but there are plenty of other potential candidates like: pride, prejudice, anger, worry, greed, vanity, hastiness, emotional wounds, entitlement, lust, slander, and the list goes on and on. As I’m transformed by grace, I find my burdens, my baggage, falling away, one by one, over time. My freedom in Jesus Christ is being patterned after his example and not some counterfeit promise (2 Peter 2:18-22). I’m glad that with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

Please sign up to follow my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. God bless!