Gleanings – Camels and Needles
Matthew 19:23-30
“When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished saying, “Who then can be saved?”
Greatly astonished? Duh! A camel passing through my front door is incomprehensible. A camel passing through the eye of a needle is infinitely more incomprehensible, indeed impossible by any human standard. “Who THEN can be saved?”
The disciples understood. Others cannot or will not. Some have even posited a gate or large door once existed that was the “eye of the needle.” It would be difficult for a camel to pass through this imaginary door but not impossible.
Denial is a powerful thing. Why employ it here? Because Jesus is saying that “man” brings nothing to the table. God has to act to make the impossible possible. And that is a bridge too far for many, perhaps all of us at some point.
We work incredibly hard not to see ourselves as helpless. A little more physical or intellectual capital and we can “git er done,” “er” meaning anything. We rock. We rule.
Not so fast says Jesus. Salvation is an act of God, not man. He reckons Abraham’s faith as righteousness. One plus one cannot equal three. Faith (trusting) cannot equal righteousness (perfection under the law). And we cannot make them equal. But God can. He can reckon them any way He wants.
It is an occasion to say, “Thank you Jesus! My hands are bound. Fortunately yours are not.”