Matthew 19:23, 24 “Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’”
Dear God,
Thank You for sending/allowing Jesus to come into this world. In the strength and power of the Holy Spirit and in communication with You, He lived a sinless life, and conducted a 3 year public ministry of caring, healing and teaching; mainly he was accepted by the poorer people and the spurned of society. From the learned and wealthier, not very often was He given recognition and honour for who He was and for His miraculous and caring ministry. Instead His path led to the cross on which He died in our stead. Because of His beautiful life lived publicly, we have His words recorded so we may have spiritual guidance, leading to life eternal.
A still relevant example for me (us) is the story of the rich young ruler. When the rich young ruler came to see Jesus, he had been a good boy at home and in the community, and like most today that have been raised in Christian homes and keep up their church attendance, he obeyed the commandments of God, and the requirements of the church. With the life of Jesus lived before Him, this young man felt some emptiness. Of course Jesus would have thoroughly supported his faithfulness in keeping the commandments, as well as for respecting his parents, and caring for his neighbours. However Jesus read his heart, and knew that his personal riches were too important to him. Most likely these earthly riches were absorbing the time needed to spend sufficient time in prayer to God; therefore Jesus advised the giving away of his riches to the poor, and to come and follow Him. This advice was to show the rich young ruler, where his heart really was.
He was so attached to the riches, that he did not answer Jesus, and turned and walked away. It was then that Jesus stated that the rich can find it harder than the poor, in learning to depend on God. He took his comments further by saying that it was actually easier for a fully loaded camel, to get down on its knees and maneuver through the tiny needle gate at Jerusalem, than for a rich man to go to heaven. Of course there are people who thank God for their wealth, share it others and make sure they set time aside and in humility seek You.
Not only money, but possessions and cares can load us down, taking our time, and prevent us from humbly putting You first and seeing the needs of others and making time to help them. I am sad that on too many occasions I have been preoccupied with the issues of life, to give You and others the time I should.
Please continue to open my eyes and heart in this area.
Amen