In the West, we are rich. It’s easy to forget this when the economy takes a downturn, food and fuel bills go through the poorly insulated roof and taxes rise. Although much of our money seems to have been spent before we’ve even received it, and many of us live for decades with mortgages, we are rich.
And our money gets us so much more than it used to. As I said in previous post, the fact is that even a lowly iPhone SE, costing about £400, gives you incredible power and access to knowledge that any king or queen in history would have grovelled on their knees for.
And so the words of Jesus, like the ones we find in Luke 18, should make us all very uncomfortable.
“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 someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
*Shudder. We’re rich. So we’re all doomed? Not quite.
Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
*Phew. We’re okay. Thanks be to God!
So why did I mention this false alarm?
I mention it because on Sunday I did a short children’s talk at my church on this passage. I describe money as being sticky. Once you have it, it’s hard to get rid of it (intentionally). When money sticks to you, soon, you find yourself clinging to it. It’s very hard to unstick yourself.
Jesus says that unsticking is impossible, using the image of a camel trying to pass through the eye of a needle. Camels, being huge pack animals, are the articulated lorries of the ancient world. Imagine an Eddie Stobart truck trying to get through the eye of a needle.
And we done with the ancient urban myth about the gate into the city that only fits a camel but all the packs have to be taken off?
Will Someone Please Think of the Children?
But here was a question I grappled with in my preparation. How does this apply to children? They don’t have any money – or at least not enough to depend on, store up and idolise.
Isn’t it interesting that this section comes directly after the section in which children are being chased away from Jesus by his disciples. Jesus rebuked them and said,
Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
Get to the Point
So here’s the point. Let us begin with the observation that children, generally, have no trouble believing the gospel of Jesus Christ. All the research demonstrates that the vast majority of Christian adults were brought up in Christian homes, or became Christians as children through church, a youth group, a summer camp or a friend. Children’s holiday clubs, camps and missions are more effective than any adult evangelism to the point of making adult evangelism barely worth doing (although we do so because we are commanded to).
And here is one possible reason – humanly speaking – why children are way more likely to respond to the gospel: they’re broke. They don’t have any money to cling to. They don’t worry so much about keeping up with the Joneses, and the status that money can bring, or the power. Sure they want the same trainers and phones as their friends, but they’ve not spent decades clinging to their own wealth, income and strength to provide for themselves.
The rich young ruler didn’t want to let go of these, even though he specifically asked a specific question about eternal life to the one who is co-eternal with the Father. That’s how sticky money is. That is why adult evangelism is so grindingly hard and slow. And why holiday clubs are packed every year with children hearing the gospel and it seems quite effective. If only their parents would bring them back to church in the following weeks. We should at least pray that they do, and that through their children, they would see what obedience, faith and discipleship really looks like.
Faithful Family Listening
If you want to bring up your kids in the faith – or what to help someone who does – why not try the Faith in Kids podcast? I make them with Ed Drew – and they are a fun listen with real Bible content, some discussion questions, a song to sing along to and plenty to make you laugh, especially if you’re struggling to find stuff to listen to in those long journeys (or school runs) in the car. Listen here.
Would you like a signed copy of my books?
Sure you would. Currently, I sell them directly to customers in the UK, but that is coming to an end very soon, as I try to jump headlong back into developing and writing sitcom scripts for the TV.
Whilst it’s fun to marvel at how the Royal Mail prices bear no relation to the denominations of stamps you can actually buy, there comes a time when you need to stop navigating the Kafkaesque mail system, stop shipping your own books and let Amazon or Waterstones take up the slack. So if you want a signed copy of The Sacred Art of Joking or The Gospel According to a Sitcom Writer – perhaps as a Christmas or birthday present? – you’ll need to order before the end of August. Or come to a gig. Or, even better, book me for a Water into Wine gig (Yeovil on 23rd Sept)
You can do that or find out more by getting in touch here.