Saturday Sermonette--The Eye of the Needle

Now a certain ruler asked Him [Jesus], saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”
So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.
And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!  For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?”
But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Luke 18:18-27, New King James

One wealthy young ruler--probably of the synagogue or maybe a band of people. One Messiah with an invitation to follow. Would you have sold everything and followed Him? The young ruler probably would have had a hundred self-justifications.

"I have responsibilities. I can't just walk off and leave them."

"What would the synagogue [tribe or whatever] do without me? No one else can lead like I can."

"I give a lot to the synagogue and the temple. If I left my leadership position, I wouldnt be making money anymore, and I wouldn't be able to give anymore."

Having money wasn't the problem. Putting "things" ahead of the Lord was. The young man loved his "things" more than he loved his own salvation. He wanted to follow Jesus, but the ruler didn't want to follow Jesus if it meant self-sacrifice.

I wonder--what do I need to lay at the altar? Is there some "thing" standing between the Lord and me? Excuse me--I think I need to go and talk to Him about it.