Camels and Mass Murderers

Sitting around the table in our adult Sunday School class, we began to discuss people we each knew who needed salvation. After several people had spoken of loved ones, family members, friends, and acquaintances, I finally stated that I wanted everyone in the world to know my Jesus. There was a short awkward pause, then someone replied, "Well, I don't think I want Saddam Hussein in heaven..."

Wow. Time for a reality check. Ever hear of the proverb, "the pot calling the kettle black"?

The Bible states quite clearly that all sin is equivalent to other sin - for instance, the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) are all equal. If you've committed the sin of commandment #9 (lying), you're still a sinner, whether or not you commit the sin of murder (commandment #6). Just because you haven't bowed down to an idol (commandment #2) or stolen anything (commandment #8) doesn't mean that you're not guilty if you have broken commandment #10 (being jealous or covetous of someone else's possessions). In short, the most perfect person in the world, having told only one lie, is as guilty in God's sight as a mass murderer (i.e., Saddam Hussein). Do I, a sinner, have any right to complain about any other sinner's entrance into heaven?

That being said, what are the prerequisites for any sinner to enter heaven?

And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:30-31

It's really that simple. Salvation has nothing to do with what you have or haven't done. As the Christian artists Casting Crowns so eloquently wrote in their song Who Am I (for which I named my blog), "...not because of who I am, but because of what You've done, not because of what I've done, but because of Who You are..." That's it.

Is that what I think it is???

Of course, Jesus so famously said while He walked this earth, "...I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:24

Ever see a camel? I saw one getting blowdried once. Apparently he had a bath, because there he was, enjoying a nice warm air drying. I wonder what you would call the zoo employee in charge of drying the camel? The official camel-dryer?

Anyways, it's obvious a camel isn't going to fit through the eye of a needle. Jesus compared that situation to a rich man trying to enter heaven because the majority of wealthy people (especially in their culture, although definitely still true today) tend to be very attached to their wealth and rely on it. Jesus' point was that you cannot rely on your wealth, your works, or anything else to get you to heaven - it has to be trust in Jesus and Him alone. Trusting anything else to get you to heaven is like trying to stuff a camel through a very tiny hole - absolutely ridiculous.

That's definitely a camel, enjoying being blow-dried

Do you think we'll see Saddam Hussein in heaven? I doubt it. There has been no evidence to suggest that he ever believed in and trusted Jesus to be his Savior. But you never know - there's a chance he did, and I guarantee, like the thief dying on the cross next to Jesus, if Saddam Hussein cried out to the Lord with even his last breath and trusted Him for salvation, he'll be in heaven. Let's let God worry about that, and spend our energy spreading this good news of salvation that is free to everyone, no matter what they've done or haven't done, no matter who they are - it's Who God is that is important.