DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE

 Jesus looked at them and said, "With mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible." 

Matthew 19:26

From our perspective, a lot of things look tough. There is the responsibility of maintaining a long-term commitment to our spouse and children, even on days when they aren't exactly endearing. There is the responsibility of dealing fairly and kindly with our coworkers, even when our boss is being a jerk and our peers are self-absorbed and mean-spirited. And then there is God's expectation that we will put him first in our lives. 

Practically impossible, we say. But Jesus said we don't have to do everything by ourselves; in fact, with God's help we can do the inconceivable. With "God all things are possible," Jesus said.

He said this in the context of something that was difficult for his disciples to even imagine. A young man had come to him and asked how to get eternal life. This was no ordinary young man, however. He was a young man of privilege and responsibility. He had gone to good schools, come from a good home, and done many good things. He was rich and devout, the model of Jewish propriety.

Jesus did not his question with doctrinal formulation nor with any calming reassurance that he was on the right track. Instead he got to the heart matter. "Go sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor," he said. "Then come, follow me." 

The young man could not or would not do this. The Bible says, "He went away grieving, because he had many possessions." 

Jesus was not really saying that we have to give away everything we own to have eternal life. For a different young man with a different set of circumstances he may have suggested something different. Jesus needed to know what the young man loved most, and his request was a simple but effective test. 

The disciples were amazed. If this young man could not get into heaven, who could? Like most of us, they were impressed by what they saw on the outside. In fact, their culture taught them that wealth was a sure sign of God's blessing.

But God is interested in our hearts, and so Jesus said something that seemed very odd to them, and even to us. He said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven, a startling image to say the least. 

If a rich man can't get into heaven, who then can be saved, the disciples asked. That's when Jesus said, "For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible." And then he began to explain what the kingdom of God is really like, a place where "the first will be last" (Matthew 20:16).

What Jesus promises is God's help for difficult things: not just physically difficult things, like going through the eye of a needle, but emotionally and spiritually difficult challenges as well. Sometimes it is hard to know God, or love God, or believe God. But he can and does give us what we need to do just that. Because with God, nothing is impossible.

Prayer : 

Dear God,

Help me to trust You for the impossible. Thank you for confidence and courage, not just to do the right things but to believe the right things, too. 

Amen