Mike’s Musings … [Editor’s Note: GARY FISCUS recently shared his writings with me, entitled BIBLICAL THOUGHTS WHILE UNDER THE SHADE TREE. I’m pleased to share a portion of his work with you!
The Eye of a Needle
Anyone who has ever attempted to thread a needle understands the patience it requires. The needle hole is small, and the thread looks like rope! My mother and grandmother started teaching me at an early age how to sew. When I played saxophone in high school, I made protective cloth pouches to keep the horn’s parts from getting scratched. I could sew on buttons – but that’s pretty much the extent of my fabric-worker accomplishments.
While sitting here today under the shade tree, I happened to notice a tear in my pant leg. Would I repair it? Probably not, but it did trigger some memories like those mentioned above. Then my mind started thinking about the apostle Paul as a tentmaker (Acts 18:1-3), Lydia as a seller of purple, (Acts 16:11-15), and Tabitha as a seamstress, (Acts 9:39), “. . . and all the widows stood by him [Peter] weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Tabitha made, while she was with them.”
In Matthew 9:16, the Lord taught, “No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.” This is a parable teaching that Jesus was not patching the Old Law with the New but replacing the Old with the New. Nevertheless, it reminded me that when a child mom would cover my jeans with iron-on patches. I know the parable, but I can’t help but think of those iron-ons!
The major thought I am having is the camel and the eye of the needle in Mark 10:25, “It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” This old Jewish proverb is still prevalent among Arabians today. The truism is not to be taken literally. Jesus’s point is that it would be most difficult for a rich man to leave his riches as hard as it would be for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. That thought alone reminds me of the days when I would thread a needle to sew something together. It was not impossible, but most difficult.
Under this tree, I am thinking of the material blessings I have been given by God. Solomon states in Proverbs 11:28, “He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.” As I look up at the green leaves on the branches of this shade tree, I am thinking how truly blessed I am. All of it together teaches me that I am to be a good steward, i.e., manager of my possessions, a generous and giving person, and put all my trust in God to provide.