The camel and the eye of the needle
Luke 18:18-30
18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’” 21 He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 He replied, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.”
28 Then Peter said, “Look, we have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
This passage is about how people receive eternal life. That is the question the influential person, the one with money, asked. That is the question the disciples asked (vs. 26). That is the question Jesus answered in vs. 27. And Jesus returned to the question of eternal life in vs. 30.
This passage is to be read as an example of why people need to become like little children to inherit eternal life. The influential person can not just rest in the gift.
The influential person stumbled when Jesus said, “Sell everything and give the money to the poor.” The man could not let go of his money. Money was the security blanket that would get him through. He cannot let go and let God. That, Jesus says, is the problem with financial comfort, we come to trust it to see us through. We trust money more than we trust God, or we trust God and money. This then is the heart of the saying about the camel and the eye of the needle. Jesus is stating something that is impossible – there is no way a camel can go through the eye of needle. Wealth can not save people anymore than good works can, salvation is ultimately a gift God gives.
Maybe, just maybe, the person with the money knew that. Because the question was: how do I inherit eternal life? Not how do I earn it. Not how do I acquire it. Inherit – most people don’t do anything to inherit something. We are named in the will of parents and grandparents to inherit something, not because we have earned it, but simply because we happened to be born into this particular family. That is not earning, that is simply receiving what was designated in the will.
God does the impossible and offers human beings the inheritance of eternal life. An inheritance offered to all those who will become the children of God (and yes we are back to Luke 18:17).
PRAYER:
Lord God, we are so frequently distracted by money, drawn in by its power, seduced to trust in it over you. Teach us to trust in you alone for our salvation, that we might receive it as a little child would receive a gift from you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.