Our paragraph topic is: (The danger of riches) Part 2.
With difficulty will a rich man enter into the kingdom of heaven is what Christ told his disciples. He spoke words of wisdom to them. He spoke words of knowledge. He spoke words above and beyond their comprehension. But he wanted them to understand the truths of the kingdom of heaven. He wanted them to know the rules and the mysteries of that place which we all ascribe to attain. For he lives in heaven and it is the place where we want to be with him.
Yet he spoke these words to the rich young man as he left upon hearing the words of truth. The young man wanted to know what he had to do to enter the kingdom of heaven. He had a desire to be with Christ for all eternity. And in order to achieve this goal he had to rid himself of all that would hold him back. He had to rid himself of all those earthly possessions that he had acquired, those things that had a hold on him. For as Christ told his disciples: "And further I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."
And this was the wisdom of the kingdom of heaven that Christ wanted his disciples to know. He presented to them an impossible example to help them understand the difficulty with which a rich man will have entering the kingdom of heaven. One can only imagine a large, hump back camel attempting to pass through a small sowing needle. To our way of thinking this would seem impossible. For a needle as we know it today is very, very small. And a camel is very, very large. The two do not seem to compare at all. How would this be imaginable in anyone's mind? But this was the example that Christ gave to his disciples to ponder, to understand.
With difficulty will a rich man enter into the kingdom of heaven is what Christ told his disciples. He spoke words of wisdom to them. He spoke words of knowledge. He spoke words above and beyond their comprehension. But he wanted them to understand the truths of the kingdom of heaven. He wanted them to know the rules and the mysteries of that place which we all ascribe to attain. For he lives in heaven and it is the place where we want to be with him.
Yet he spoke these words to the rich young man as he left upon hearing the words of truth. The young man wanted to know what he had to do to enter the kingdom of heaven. He had a desire to be with Christ for all eternity. And in order to achieve this goal he had to rid himself of all that would hold him back. He had to rid himself of all those earthly possessions that he had acquired, those things that had a hold on him. For as Christ told his disciples: "And further I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."
And this was the wisdom of the kingdom of heaven that Christ wanted his disciples to know. He presented to them an impossible example to help them understand the difficulty with which a rich man will have entering the kingdom of heaven. One can only imagine a large, hump back camel attempting to pass through a small sowing needle. To our way of thinking this would seem impossible. For a needle as we know it today is very, very small. And a camel is very, very large. The two do not seem to compare at all. How would this be imaginable in anyone's mind? But this was the example that Christ gave to his disciples to ponder, to understand.
This was the example that he gave to show how difficult it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Riches demand holding onto. Riches demand that they are kept. Riches demand that they are protected, provided for, adored, glorified, and guarded least they are stolen. They are not easily come by. They require hard work and sacrifice. They often times demand that we forgo our morals to acquire them. And yet we can not take them with us. We can hide them. We can lock them up so that no one else may have them. Or we can pass them on, so that others may possess them as we have. But they can not be taken into the kingdom of heaven.
And this is the example that Christ wanted his disciples to understand. The impossibility of a camel entering the eye of a needle is compared to a rich man entering the kingdom of heaven. The two do not compute. A camel would have to be reduced to the size of a pin head or the size of thread to be able to pass through the eye of a needle. And likewise, a rich man would have to reduced to the size of a pauper to enter into the kingdom of heaven. You see, what have we of earthly riches? What have we of paper value, glass rocks that we value as precious or gold colored rocks or silver? These things have no value in the kingdom. They are already plentiful and in abundance, available to all. Possessions of these things imparts no special significance. They give no power, no prestige, no glory, no honor, no status in heaven. For the gold in heaven is God's love and it is available to all.
We are children of God our Father. His love is what fills us, what completes us. His love makes us whole; without it we are empty. Christ came to give us this message: our Father loves us. Our Father loves us so much that he forgave us our sins and sent his only son to atone. And with that atonement he gave us new life. Our sins killed us. Our sins destroyed the life that we had from the beginning. And even today our sins take away the life that is freely given. We have only to ask to receive it back. We have only to seek to find again. We have only to knock and the door will be opened to us to regain that life that we lost.
The world does not want us to have that life. The world does not want us to know. The world wants us to forget and to continue to live in sin. For those who want, the opportunity is theirs for the taking. For those who seek the treasure is there for the finding. And for those who want the love of the Father, his arms are open wide for you to receive his love only for the asking. You will know the truth if you seek it. You will see the life if you knock. Your heart will know the peace when you open it to the love of the Father. Come! Receive the life that is yours for the asking.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
