On one of our vacations we took the kids to a Kid's Museum. The owner of this place had taken old airplanes, cars, ramps, skateboard parks,...and managed to put them all together in a maze. The place was overwhelming. They could climb and explore thousands of things.
But first we had to get in and I became a little intimidated when I saw to even get in the building I would have to climb up a steep ramp using a rope to pull myself up. I looked and looked for another entrance, but this seemed to be the only way. Somehow I made it up and we were able to get inside. I am kind of glad that this place isn't near us or I would be having to use this entrance a lot because I know it would end up one of our yearly field trip spots.
In this story Jesus' tells, a rich young man approaches Him and simply asks, "What good thing must I do to get eternal life?" This man figures he's probably done this good thing since he's so well off, or if he hasn't done it yet he certainly can since money talks.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Jesus tells him obey the commandments to which he finds out he has obeyed them. Then Jesus gives him the clincher, "If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man goes away distraught because he was so wealthy, he didn't want to give any of it up.
The disciples wonder why he can't give away his stuff, and this is when Jesus explain, "It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle." Now we might be picturing a needle with a little tiny eye, and those of us who have threaded needles now how hard it is to get the thread in the needle. How in the world would a camel ever get through that?
Jesus is actually referring to an entrance into a city. Towns were built with walls around them and during the day, everyone used the gate to come in and out. At night though the gates were closed and if you wanted to enter the city you had to enter through the eye of the needle. For a camel to enter in, everything must be removed from it's back and it had to get down on it's belly and crawl through. I'm sure it must have been a sight, and I would probably just camp outside and wait for the city gate to open in the morning.
In order to enter heaven, we must give up what's holding us back. For the man in this story it was his wealth. For other people it's their pride and for others it could be resentment. There are many things that prevent us from a true relationship with Christ making the entrance hard to climb. Are you willing to take it off so you can enter into heaven? Or are you going to go away distraught because what you carry is of great wealth?
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