If two wine glasses are sitting on a table, one empty and the other filled to the brim with water, which would you choose to pour wine into? We’d choose the empty glass, not because we don’t “love” the other glass, but because it doesn’t have the capacity to receive, whereas the empty one does.
Isn’t this true of God’s mercy as well? His heart’s desire is to fill every human being with it; trouble is, some of the “glasses” are already filled with something else.
Jesus speaks to this point today (Matthew 19:23-30).
“Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Again, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”
The poor man comes to God with an empty glass. On the other hand, the rich man’s glass is filled with wealth and the complications that wealth brings. Though God’s “wine” appeals to him, his glass is filled with something that he deems of greater value. Jesus uses the image of a camel trying to get through a narrow gate, as a metaphor of a rich man trying to push into the Kingdom of heaven. We can look at it in a reverse way, by thinking of the Kingdom of heaven trying to get into the rich man’s heart. Sometimes there is no room for God.
“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, ‘Who then can be saved?’”
They were accustomed to thinking of the rich as the worthy ones, blessed by God. If the rich don’t qualify for the Kingdom, then certainly the poor do not. If they won’t let a wealthy man into a building, surely they will not allow a poor man in.
“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For men this is impossible but for God all things are possible.’”
In trying to get a camel through a narrow gate, one would first take off the packages that he was carrying. Then they might get a tight belt and tie it around his middle to shrink his girth. Finally, they’d get two or three strong people to start pushing the camel. It is a difficult task trying to push the camel through the gate, but it is not impossible.
There are wealthy people who do make it into God’s Kingdom. They see their wealth as a gift from God and use it to bless the needy of this world. They, like God (who is also rich), are generous with what’s been given them and use their resources to help build up the Kingdom of God on earth. It may be a struggle for them to let go of their wealth, but as they invite Jesus into their hearts, they realize that he is a treasure worth more than all that the world has to offer, and so they gladly empty their “pockets” to let more of God into their lives.
How rich are we with the things of this world? Do we come to God with empty glasses or ones that are filled with something else? Does Jesus hold first place in our lives, or do other things and people fill the glasses of our hearts?
No matter our condition, God is always ready to make even the impossible, possible—by the action of his grace. Let’s ask him to help us empty our hearts to make plenty of room for his Son.
