Mark 10 says, “How hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel do go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
The irony of this story is that people, the rich man in the story included, are so afraid of the entry price, they would rather not enter than give up what they have placed their trust in. Not knowing that once they enter they will experience abundance, so the entry fee is just that an entry fee, it is not a perpetual reality of poverty in the kingdom.
In the United States we have a park called Magic Kingdom. The entry price of this park is quite steep, but year after year, after year moms and dad pack up the kids and spend a lot of money to pay the entry fee into this kingdom. They call it the happiest place on earth, but for those paying, it may not seem happy when they arrive at the gate, but once inside, there is a lot of reasons to be happy.
The kingdom of God is similar. The entry fee of the kingdom is a narrow way, but leads to a broad space. If you are not willing to pay the price to enter, you will never enter into the joy your Father in heaven has prepared for you on earth. The price is obedience to the voice of God, for some this is too high of a price to pay. But to those of us who have entered, we are having the time of our life.
My prayer for you today is that you will stop denying yourself entry because you think you can’t afford it. Abundance of everything is on the other side of the entry fee into the kingdom of God on earth. Yes you can enter the kingdom when you die, but it is available on earth right now, but it does have an entry fee and the rich young man was not willing to pay it.
Mark 10 ends this story by saying, “But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.” The rich young man could not afford the entry fee, he put his trust in riches. May you and I learn from him and not say we can’t afford it, for honestly we can’t afford to miss the kingdom on earth. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org
