St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 24, Difficulty for a rich man entering into the Kingdomof heaven.

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.

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. 

St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 23, Entrance into the Kingdom for rich men.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The danger of riches) Part 1.

Christ gave the rich young man the opportunity of a lifetime and he went away saddened.  The young man turned away.  He did not know how to accomplish it.  He did not know how to do what was being asked of him.  He did not understand the greatness that stood before him which would change his life forever.  The physical had a hold of him.  The riches of this world would not let go.  The things that he had so treasured in this life possessed him.  He could not let them go.

This is what Christ wanted to warn his disciples about, the dangers of riches.  He wanted them to know the depths to which riches could and would possess mankind.  For the deception was real.  The hold was crippling.  The unrelenting grip would so lock a person that with difficulty one would struggle to find a way out.  And this young man could not find a way out.  Christ saw the struggle and warned his disciples that they would know the truth of what physical riches would do to the spiritual life within us.  But Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen I say to you, with difficulty will a rich man enter the kingdom of heaven.

Those were the words that Christ spoke to his disciples that they would know the effects of the physical riches of this world.  What are the riches of this world?  We scrap and grab and claw at, wish for, desire and work for our whole lives to have that which is presented to us from our time of birth.  Have the good life.  Paper money or wealth gives us the opportunity to do as we please.  We become free to live a life that others dream about.  We have the opportunity to buy whatever we see that pleases us.  For we are rich.  We are wealthy.  We have the buying power to own that which our heart desires.

And it is this power, this wealth that will drive us to keep it, to maintain it, to hold onto it least we loose it.  And it is in that struggle that we become possessed of the things that we desire.  For we continue to want that which we have and that which we have continues to hold us.  It is with difficulty that we will enter the kingdom of heaven Christ says.  It is with difficulty that we will let go of that which we have struggled so long and hard to have.  It is with difficulty that it will let go of us once it has possessed us.

Through this possession we loose sight of that which is most precious and dear, our life, our soul.  For more than anything else in this world, the life within us is more precious, more valuable than anything this world has to offer.  The life within is more precious than ten thousand diamonds, precious gems, or tons of gold.  For all this is dirt compared to the life that was given us by Christ through God our Father.  And yet we are not able to see, not able to understand, to know this one simple truth.  Be not blinded by the glitz and glamour that the physical world has to offer in exchange for the true light of life given us by the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.

He came that we would know.  He came that we could see.  He came that we would have that life eternally.  Yet darkness prevails.  Darkness is all around us.  Darkness wants to put out the light.  Darkness wants to take control of us and influence us to do evil.  And darkness wants to destroy us in the eternal pit of fire in hell.  We are the children of God our Father.  We are children of the creator of the universe.  We are children of the one who created the wealth that is presented to us.  And as His children we already have the wealth of the world.  Not only do we have the wealth of this world but we have the wealth of the entire universe.  The universe that we can barely perceive is ours.  It belongs to us as our inheritance.  It is our treasure, our gift, and our joy.  It is already given.  It is not something that we must exchange to obtain.

But more than the physical treasures of the universe is the spiritual love of the Father.  Things cannot satisfy us.  Riches cannot fill the hole.  Physical passions, physical desires, wants and needs cannot begin to fulfill the longing within.  The love that our Father bears for us is the only thing that can fill us completely.  For it is overwhelming.  It is uplifting.  It is like nothing that we have experienced before.  It is there for the asking, there for the receiving, there for the knowing. 

Be not deceived by the riches of this world.  Do not exchange that which is real and eternal for that which is not.  Entrance into the kingdom awaits you.  Fulfillment of that which your heart desires, is yours.  Seek that truth within yourself and you will know the love that the Father has for you.  He has given you the path to follow.  He has placed the Advocate at your door waiting for you to open it.  He has given you the keys to unlock your treasure once you find it.  The choice is yours.  Chose to see it.  Chose to open it.  Chose to believe that it is there for you and you will find it.

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.

St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 22b, The commandments: Having great possessions.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 16.

And now we come to the culmination of this paragraph topic, the rich man speaks to Jesus.  He came because he wanted to know.  He had conquered all the experiences of his time, having the freedom to do as he pleased.  Yet within all that he had accomplished he still desired something more.  He had a hunger within.  He had a hole that needed to be filled.  He had yet to find anything in this world that could fill it.  He had riches.  He had opportunity.  He had freedom to do all that his wealth allowed.  Yet he did not have the fulfillment that enlightenment brought.

He sought Christ because he heard the word.  He sought Christ because the word opened the door to his heart and stirred something within him.  He sought Christ because that which was within pointed him in the direction of Christ to get the answers.  And when he found Christ he was given answers.  Keep the commandments he was told.  That he did, but that was not enough to fill the hunger.  If he wanted to be perfect he was given other tasks to complete.  Sell what he had.  Give to the poor and have treasure in heaven.  And then, to reach that perfection, come and follow Christ to fill the hunger within.  When he heard the words he was filled with sorrow and sadness.  "He went away sad, for he had great possessions."

He had great possessions.  Much had he acquired in his lifetime even though he was a young man, he had great possessions.  Typical of what we aspire to have today is great possessions.  We want much riches, cars, beauty, good health, love, passion, power, beautiful homes, travel, fine clothes, fine wines, fine men or women in our lives.  All these are the things that we aspire to have today.  Is it wrong to want these things?  Is it wrong that we see and feel the desires of our hearts?  Is it wrong for us to want what is given to us to have?  After all we see these things presented to us everyday.  We are given to want these things because others have them and they tell us that we should want them also.

Great possessions are the things that are plugged into our brains daily.  Yet it is those same possessions that possess us.  It is the desire, the passion, the need, that drives us that consumes us, that possess us in our every waking thought and deed that lead us to the destination that we seek.  Some succeed in that goal.  Most do not.  What must we do to obtain that goal?  Or is that goal something that we truly want or desire?  Thousands of potential actors, singers, comedians, and performers grow up seeking to be the stars of today.  Yet only a handful succeed in reaching that goal.  And what are the consequences that are paid to obtain that goal?  What price do they pay to be number one? 

The rich young man had an opportunity.  He had an opportunity like nothing else that he had experienced in his life.  He had the opportunity to become a follower of Christ, to become a disciple.  Yet he had possessions.  He had great possessions.  And those possessions had a hold of him.  He could not find a way to let them go.  He was blinded by the glitz and glamour of death.  For all that is physical leads to death.  And all that is spiritual leads to life.  What is the dollar but ink on paper?  What is gold but a shimmering rock?  All that we are given to value in this world does not give life but death.  And there is nothing in this physical world that will give life except that which is life. 

Christ came that we would have life and have it more abundantly.  We are the life that he has given us if we only are able to see it, to feel it, to know it, to be it.  We are given death in the disguise of life, but life is within us and not from outside.  Life is the light that is within us.  It is the essence of that which Christ gave to us.  It is the light of life that results from the spirit within.  I am the spirit and not the physical.  I am the light within and not the body.  I am the life of the spirit and not the darkness of death.  For I know the truth of who I am in Christ and so can you.  I know the consolation of the Spirit and so can you.  I know the protection and the provision of the Father and so will you.  Come!  Know the truth of who you are in the spirit and see the life that is within you. 

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.