Matthew 19: 23-30
Jesus
said to his disciples:
“Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Again I say to you,
it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,
“Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible.”
Then Peter said to him in reply,
“We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
“Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Again I say to you,
it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,
“Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible.”
Then Peter said to him in reply,
“We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Being rich is not a sin. Being rich will not keep you
from getting into the Kingdom of heaven. What you choose to do with your riches
does.
The Twelve replied with, “Who then can be saved?”
In other words, each and every one of us is rich in our
own respects. Money is not the only treasure. I have something far more
valuable than money. It is even more valuable than the air I breathe. If I do
not have air my body will die. If I do not have my faith there is no life
within me. My faith is my greatest treasure.
What do I do with my faith? If I hoard it all for myself
I am nothing more than another rich man who cannot pass through the eye of the
needle. Like a man with tremendous wealth, my faith is meant to be shared with
those who do not have it. My faith is to be used to bring others to a saving
knowledge of Jesus.
The trick to passing through the eye of a needle is that
it cannot be done alone. A single person is too big to fit. You can only pass
through the eye of a needle if you are with a group.
Come judgment, we do not stand before Jesus alone. We
stand before him with every person we helped get to heaven. If you stand before
Jesus alone it is only because you did nothing to bring another to a saving
knowledge of Jesus. If you stand alone you are a rich man who greedily kept all
of his treasure for himself.
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