Mark 10:23-27
“Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.””
Mark 10:23-27 NIV
Can you do the impossible? No, that’s why it is impossible. There’re some fun, impossible things found in everyday life. You can’t tickle yourself, you can’t lick your elbow. And if that’s not profound enough for you, you can’t sneeze with your eyes open, and you can’t slam a revolving door.
You can barely say the word toy boat three times really fast without slurring the words. And you can’t move your leg in a clockwise direction in a circle, and simultaneously draw the number six. Please be careful when you try that today, you’ll fall over.
There’re a lot of impossible things but the most desperate one, the one thing our hearts struggle with, the one impossible thing we desperately need to be possible is eternal life. In our inner most being, we know we deserve judgment. We intrinsically know we’re guilty of sin and deserve Hell forever.
Therefore, we hope beyond hope that salvation is possible, that Heaven can be gained that we don’t get what we deserve.
But Jesus will tell us today that salvation is not possible. We cannot have salvation, get salvation, earn it, work for it, or ask for it, it is impossible.
But the good news is, salvation is possible for God to provide. God Himself can save us, but it’ll cost Him more than we can imagine. And our Lord Jesus clarifies that only He can make salvation possible for us. The disciples were shocked.
They had taken in the things they had seen and heard in Jesus' interchange with the young man who went away sorrowfully. Being on the poorer end of the economic scale, they assumed that the richer folks would have a better chance of making it into heaven. Jesus told them that the exact opposite is true, it is very hard for those who are rich to enter the Kingdom of God.
Jesus words should be a sober warning to us. Most of us with access to a computer or mobile device and the internet are so much better off financially than the majority of the world's population. Unfortunately, we often focus on what we lack rather than what God has given us to use to bless others and honor him.
We must not let ourselves be possessed by our possessions and our desire for them. They turn our hearts away from God and become idols which replace God in our lives.
We live in a day where we are barraged with the idea that you can do anything, that one self-esteem, psychological lie deludes everyone into believing exaggerated opinions of themselves and their abilities. They say, If you can dream it, you can do it. If you think, you can do it, you can.
Exposing that lie is your obvious limitations, limitations of talent, strength, time, opportunity, circumstances, and the laws of physics. And destroying that lie, the lie that we can do anything, is the truth our Lord teaches here.
Our flesh, sin, pride, self-centeredness does not want to accept the idea that we can’t choose to be saved on our own that even if salvation is difficult, we can somehow achieve it.
It is impossible for us to enter the kingdom of God on our own, in our own self-sufficiency. We must have the help of the God of the Impossible. He alone makes the Way available to us.
You might think of yourself as rich or not quite rolling in the dough, but without Jesus, we are all in an impossible place in desperate need of the One who makes all things possible!!!
Father thank You for this day and for Your amazing grace. Lord pour out Your abundant blessings over my friend and family today. Lord bless us with wisdom, generosity, and a passion for Your work as we seek to use our financial and material blessings to honor You and to bring others closer to You. Daddy we love You amen. Be a blessing. Love ya !
Comments