Famous Mottos

Matt 19:26 "But Jesus looked at them and said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"

The setting is this: A rich guy comes to Jesus and asks how he can inherit eternal life. Jesus gives him an interesting answer…an answer that we would not give: "Keep the commandments." In other words, good works will get you to heaven? No. That was not the point. In fact, Jesus was trying to make a point, but this guy was not getting it. How do I know. Because he said that he had kept all of the commandments. Pretty good. This guy thought he was perfect. Jesus had to debunk that. He had to show him that he was not perfect. He had to show him his need, so He hit him between the eyes. Jesus knew that this guy was rich so He told him to give it all up. Well, there was no way. Even though this guy had a significant need, the need to put God first, the need for a Savior, he decided that he would have to stay in his imperfection because he liked it too much.

I wonder how often I am there. I like my imperfection too much. I don't want to give up a pet desire. I don't want to let go of a cherished attitude. I don't want to eliminate a habit. Jesus does not want any competition. He is God. He wants complete allegiance. In this guy's case it was all of his stuff.

Next comes the lesson for Jesus' guys. "It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." V23 His disciples wondered about this. If a rich guy can't get in, then who can get in? I mean, you would think that the rich would be able to get in and if they can't, then certainly the poor can't get in. I am not sure that they were grasping what Jesus was getting at.

This then brought about the main lesson: "Man can't do it. It is impossible. But with God all things are possible." Even the rich can get in. Even the poor can get in. Even the proud can get in. Event the humble can get in. Even the thief can get in. Even the honest can get in. Even the hateful can get in. Even the loving can get in. How? Through the unbelievable work of God. No, you can't stay in the state that you are in. You have to repent. You have to change. You have to trust. You have to come to God and surrender…but we all can get in, not because we keep the commandments, because with man that is impossible. But we can get in because with God all things are possible…Jesus death on the cross made it all possible.

Beyond this, however, I have to think about this statement: "But with God all things are possible." Believe it or not, this is the State of Ohio's motto. I wonder if we really believe it? Where is our trust? What do we put our confidence in? Our smarts?. Our abilities? Our money? Our wisdom? Or do we really trust God? Do we say: "God, we have this 8 billion dollar shortfall this year. We don't know how to get out of it, but You do. Give us the wisdom to get out of it because with You all things are possible."

Or, what about me? Do I believe this? Sure, for my salvation…but what about my life? What about my needs? What about my future? What about the stuff I am concerned about? Am I trusting God or am I relying on my own abilities? I think that maybe this was what Jesus was getting at with the rich guy and His disciples. It isn't you…it's all God…trust Him. That leads me to another famous motto: "In God we trust." Do we? Really?