To his followers the loving Master Jesus always made His teaching as clear and simple as possible, using the things with which they were familiar ...to illustrate his lessons.

Sometimes it was the growing grass of the fields, the sheep and the good shepherd, the birds, the lilies,—always something the people knew about.

On this memorable occasion the Master had looked upon the man who had kept the commandments from his "youth up," and had loved Him; then, the Master had sorrowfully watched the man go away because he put his faith in material possessions.

How the loving heart of the Master must have yearned over the people gathered there under the blue skies by the murmuring waters of the Jordan! They had come to him to be taught spiritual truth they could not find elsewhere; they were ready to be taught. And to make clear the lesson He would teach them about not placing their trust in material possessions, He spoke of the Needle's Eye, a gate that led into the city of Jerusalem. All the people there knew about this gate, and many of them, no doubt, had passed through it. The Needle's Eye was so small the merchants and travelers who came to pass through it had to dismount and unpack the loaded camels before they could enter. Even then the camels had to crawl through in a kneeling posture. None of the costly wares, none of the fine silks and linens, none of the precious perfumes could the camels carry through this gate upon their backs.

Thus the Master made the lesson clear to them, if they would enter the kingdom of God they must put their trust in something higher than material possessions; they must learn to put their trust in the Creator of the substance of all things.

And after nineteen centuries the Needle's Eye still stands, and we still must learn this lesson!