Unpack that Camel!

My friend, Rhonda, put this note on her facebook recently:

"This is an excerpt from a teaching by Perry Stone. I thought it worthy of sharing.

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” - Matthew 19:23-24

In the English language we see a “needle’s eye” as the small opening in a sewing needle through which a piece of thread is pulled. Can you see a camel attempting to go through such an opening? Actually Jesus did not have a sewing needle in mind.

In the Ancient time every city had gates. Some were made of wood but many were iron or a combination of wood and iron (Isaiah 45:1). These large gates were shut at night and no one was permitted to enter or exit unless it was an important person. There were also watchmen placed on the wall to guard against invading armies. A small door was placed within the large doors that would permit someone to enter or exit in the event of an emergency or because of a definite need or purpose. This small door was called the “needle’s eye.” Jesus said it was difficult for a camel to go through the eye of the needle. Camels are a very tall animal with a very long neck and were often laden down with large bags to transport wheat, charcoal, wood and other important commodities into the town every day.

A burdened down camel carrying these loads cannot possibly enter the eye of the needle without unloading its burdens! Jesus was saying that those who are extremely rich are so burdened down with the cares of life and riches that unless they unload themselves from the many cares of life, they will have difficulty entering the kingdom, just like a camel who is burdened down with its load cannot enter into the narrow opening in the city gate.

A camel needs a BROAD road to carry its load but Jesus taught the road leading to life is very narrow. This is just one of many examples of understanding the unusual and difficult words of Jesus."

I think that too many times we don't think of ourselves as "rich" because, by American standards, most of us are just "middle class." But if we viewed ourselves by world standards...we are all very rich. We each have our own home, cars, hobbies, etc. For much of the world these things are available to only the wealthy.

I know that I find myself so burdened down with carrying all the "things" that I have to do because of my wealth - the house must be cleaned, the car maintained, all the work that comes from the hobbies (since my hobby is books...they must be organized, cared for, and , on occasion, I need to read them. LOL) These are the kinds of things that I often find pulling me away from my time with God and intimacy with Him. Once again I need to "unpack this camel" and lay down the burdens of life to enter into the presence of God...or I will find myself outside the gate...with nothing to show for it except burdens. Ouch.