Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” - Matthew 19:26
What I find interesting is that the world rarely speaks in terms of limits. There seems to be an ethos that silently moves through the Western culture that anything is possible. You can see the spirit of this thinking in various ways. Silicon Valley does not appear to think there are limits to what technology can do. Aspiring political personalities do not seem to think there are limits to what they can accomplish in office (even though there are…clearly). Car companies continue to push the limits. Social movements advocate in ways that prove that they believe they can change the whole world, and they are. Businesses pop up every day to compete with giant corporations that have a can do and will do mindset. It would appear that the infectious idealism of achieving the impossible dream cascades down upon the culture like an avalanche. Inconceivably, it is everywhere, and swaying everyone…except for maybe the church.
Consider this. The Christian institution believes that it was founded upon the life, death, and resurrection of its own God. That seems impossible. The Bible is a historical, philosophical, poetic, religious account of astounding miracles and it has survived for thousands of years and is still the most widely printed and published book of all time. That seems impossible. The Christian church boasts members in the Billions and yet it started from just 12 average men. That seems impossible. Christians pray around the world simultaneously at every hour of the day and yet God does not seem overwhelmed or bombarded by answering millions of requests all at the very same time. That seems impossible. And yet these examples are all true. My argument is, that while the secular culture progresses into the future with unstoppable force reaching for infinite possibilities, it looks like the very religion based on impossibility and improbability is content with setting and abiding by limitations. We sometimes limit how much prayer can do by our doubts. We limit the power of the Word when we fail to apply it. We limit how much God can change our lives when we resist the Holy Spirit’s convictions. We think there is a limit to God’s abundant resources which is why we complain that improvements or ministries cost too much. We inaccurately assume there is a limit to God’s grace and forgiveness when we fail to accept it…or offer it. We act as if there is a limit to the kinds of people Jesus loves when we deem certain groups as beyond help. We at times limit the Lord in our minds by denying miracles, as if He Himself is a finite human being. Sometimes, we are just most comfortable when things are possible. This is a travesty.
The context of the key verse above has to do with a discussion Jesus is having with His disciples about a young wealthy leader who is obsessed with goodness (and possessions). Jesus suggests that the young successful guy will have a hard time being saved. The disciple’s jaws drop. "If he can’t be saved, then who can?”, they ask. In human terms, salvation is impossible. Humans can neither save themselves nor be saved by another human. It is not possible. So there it is, mankind has reached a limitation that not even the secular world can overcome. For all that the world believes it can accomplish, here is one thing it will never be able to do; give man eternal life. And for all of the church’s failings in respect to believing in the impossible, there is at least one thing we generally still think is possible. And that is that Jesus saves. Against all improbability and all impossibility, we believe that a sinner can be transformed into a saint. That those destined for hell may be made ready for heaven. True, our faith may not always be what it ought to be. We may very well be giving way to the world which does not appear to have any holdups about what what is possible or not. But as long as we can hold on to our trust in what the goodness of God can do with a man’s soul, there is hope.
On Sabbath we will dive into the Life and Teachings of Jesus: Goodness. We will study the goodness of man in contrast with the goodness of God in light of the impossible work of saving the human race. We will also lean a little into the youth culture (since the narrative will be about the rich young ruler) and because there will be a dedication this weekend of the Fresno Adventist Academy teachers. Hope to connect with you all this weekend!
Pastor Dean