Our paragraph topic is: (The danger of riches) Part 5.
Christ had spoken to his disciples about riches and how they can make if difficult to enter into the kingdom of heaven. He gave them a simple example so that they would have an understanding. He told them that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. With what difficulty one would have trying to get a camel through the eye of a needle, one would also have even more difficulty getting a rich man into the kingdom of heaven.
This was a concept that was foreign to them and even to us today it seems extreme. Our imagination would tell us that you would have to shrink a camel to less than the size of the eye of the needle to get it through. In the same sense one would have to reduce the rich man down to nothing to get him into the kingdom of heaven. Yet Christ wanted them to not think with the minds of men but to understand the power and majesty of the Father. And looking upon them, Jesus said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Christ gazed upon his disciples and saw that they did not understand his words. He wanted them to understand the true nature of the possession of riches. He wanted them to know the dangers of having riches and where they could lead. Having riches and possessing riches is like a fever. One wants to keep them. One wants to hold onto them. On wants to not loose them for fear. And yet death is the ultimate divider. For one cannot take riches after death. One cannot posses riches after death. For we are all children of God and in heaven there is no place for pride.
Our Father created us. He gave us life. He provided us with a place to live to grow, prosper, and to multiply. He gave us this realm, the physical. He gave us the intelligence to use the physical to produce the things that would allow us to live and prosper. All these things he gave us freely that we may know his goodness and his mercy. After we had rejected him and turned towards the world he still forgave us. His love for mankind is so great that he allowed his only son to come and live among us that we may know him. And he gave his only son that he would come and sacrifice himself to redeem us to give us new life.
With this new life we now are able to enter into the kingdom. Before Christ came to redeem us, no one could enter into the kingdom. All had to wait until the sacrifice was completed. Christ released all those who were in waiting. He was the first. And he is the last. All things are given to us in his name. The riches of this world will stop us. They will hinder us. They will hold us back from entering into the kingdom. Possession of riches is not the danger but the riches of possession is. Remember, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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.
Christ had spoken to his disciples about riches and how they can make if difficult to enter into the kingdom of heaven. He gave them a simple example so that they would have an understanding. He told them that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. With what difficulty one would have trying to get a camel through the eye of a needle, one would also have even more difficulty getting a rich man into the kingdom of heaven.
This was a concept that was foreign to them and even to us today it seems extreme. Our imagination would tell us that you would have to shrink a camel to less than the size of the eye of the needle to get it through. In the same sense one would have to reduce the rich man down to nothing to get him into the kingdom of heaven. Yet Christ wanted them to not think with the minds of men but to understand the power and majesty of the Father. And looking upon them, Jesus said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Christ gazed upon his disciples and saw that they did not understand his words. He wanted them to understand the true nature of the possession of riches. He wanted them to know the dangers of having riches and where they could lead. Having riches and possessing riches is like a fever. One wants to keep them. One wants to hold onto them. On wants to not loose them for fear. And yet death is the ultimate divider. For one cannot take riches after death. One cannot posses riches after death. For we are all children of God and in heaven there is no place for pride.
Our Father created us. He gave us life. He provided us with a place to live to grow, prosper, and to multiply. He gave us this realm, the physical. He gave us the intelligence to use the physical to produce the things that would allow us to live and prosper. All these things he gave us freely that we may know his goodness and his mercy. After we had rejected him and turned towards the world he still forgave us. His love for mankind is so great that he allowed his only son to come and live among us that we may know him. And he gave his only son that he would come and sacrifice himself to redeem us to give us new life.
With this new life we now are able to enter into the kingdom. Before Christ came to redeem us, no one could enter into the kingdom. All had to wait until the sacrifice was completed. Christ released all those who were in waiting. He was the first. And he is the last. All things are given to us in his name. The riches of this world will stop us. They will hinder us. They will hold us back from entering into the kingdom. Possession of riches is not the danger but the riches of possession is. Remember, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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.
