Camels and Needles

As I was reading my bible this week, I came across the passage of the rich ruler. As I was reading, the following passage stuck out to me, "When Jesus heard this, he said to him, 'You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven. Then come follow me.' When he (the ruler) heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, 'How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, 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.'" (Luke 18:22-25) When you first read this, it is really depressing, and it seems impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. But then I did some research. My parents gave me a book that helps to understand scripture through the time period that it was written. First off, there were two types of needles in the time of Jesus. You have the eye of a regular sewing needle, and there other type of needle was a small door in a larger door. The larger doors were like city gates, and were normally closed in the evening. So if someone wanted to enter the city, they could walk through the small door, or the "needle's eye." The problem is that large animal could enter through the small door easily, like a camel. The camel would have to stop, and take of the load that it was carrying, and the camel would have to crawl through the door. Camels could enter the door eventually, but that was only possible when they unloaded what they had, and got on their knees.
So what does this new information mean in context to the verse above? The first thing it means is that the rich must lay down his burdensome "things", which could be anything from houses to cars to money. The next thing this means that that the rich have to kneel to enter the kingdom of God. Just like how the camels had to get on there knees to enter the city, the rich need to get off their high horse and get on their knees before God. This might seem difficult or impossible, especially if you are rich, but as the story goes on, verse 27 says, "Jesus replied, 'What is impossible with man is possible with God.'" Nothing is to big for God to handle, and if you struggle with this ask God to help you lay down your burdensome "things" so that you may kneel before Him.