Christian Living

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January 30, 2012 – Big Needles, Tiny Camels, and Impossibilities

26 But Jesus looked at them and said, With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God. – Matthew 19:26 AMP

Today’s verse comes after a young rich man came to Jesus wanting to know what to do in order to have eternal life. Jesus’ instructions were simple: follow the Commandments, sell everything you own, then come and follow Me. The rich man went away distressed. In fact he was so upset that Jesus told His disciples that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven. His disciples found these comments hard to believe for two reasons.

First of all, you have to consider the culture of Jesus’ day. In the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, rich people were considered to be blessed by God. This is especially hard to fathom in our society today because we see and hear news about wealthy people living ungodly lives. These people seemingly get away with everything. And we all breathe a collective I told you so when such people are incarcerated. But in Jesus’ day, they were blessed, end of story. The disciples found it hard to believe that someone so blessed could not inherit eternal life.

Second, I believe the disciples questioned Jesus’ words out of fear. I believe that they feared His words because they themselves were wealthy. Matthew was a tax collector; those guys had plenty of money. Many of the other disciples were fishermen. Now although the job of a fisherman was a very humble one and required countless hours of hard work, these guys were a far cry from the old men you see fishing from the pier at the beach. They owned their own boats. Have you ever seen the television show The Deadliest Catch? Those guys made lots of money. Now I know that Peter was not fishing on the Bering Sea for crab, but I am saying that he and his fellow fishermen turned disciples were living well above the poverty level.

So how will God fit a camel through the eye of a needle? Will He make a really big needle? Will He shrink a camel down to just the right size? Those are the only two explanations a worldly mind can think of. But the point Jesus is trying to make here is not about the size of the camel or the size of the needle; it’s about making possibilities from the impossible.

In the Book of a Genesis Sarah gives birth to her son Isaac at ninety years of age (Genesis 17:17). The only woman I have known in my life that lived to be ninety was my paternal grandmother. She was full of drive and determination up until the last six months of her life, but even then I knew that she could never have another child. She, like Sarah, was well past the age of childbearing. But what happened? God turned the impossible into reality. Because of her faith, God gave her the physical power to give birth (Hebrews 11:11).

That’s the key to impossibilities in life: faith and reliance on God. Many times people try to buy their way into heaven. Wealthy Christians give lots of money, while others give all of their free time. But neither will work. If you give money or time or both to your church or other Christian causes without having a faith and reliance on God, don’t expect those deeds alone to get you anywhere. In the end, you’ll be standing on the other side of the needle, looking through the eye, realizing what the camel must feel like.

But things don’t work that way in God’s eyes. If you have faith in Him to do what He says in His Word, you will be saved. You will get through the needle. It’s not important to know how you got through the needle’s eye: what’s important is that you make it through. Nothing we do will get us into heaven. The only thing that will get us there is our faith.

What’s your situation? Are you wealthy thinking you can buy your way into heaven? Do you read this passage and thank God that you’re not rich? Whether rich or poor, it doesn’t matter. The only thing that will get you into heaven is your faith. Don’t try to get through the eye of the needle alone. Rely on God for everything. Listen to Him and follow His ways. When you do He will turn your life of impossibilities into a world of realities pleasing to Him.

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