Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 25 - Lucky For Us

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, 

but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

Ugh, context! It’s too bad that I am a stickler for context, because this verse is such a powerful faith motivational tool. Because, yes, you are incapable of accomplishing ‘X’, but God is, and with God all things are possible. While that may indeed be true, when Jesus says these particular red letters he is discussing a very specific impossibility.

Namely, Jesus is talking about a rich person getting into heaven. You see, just a few verses earlier Jesus encounters, what we have termed, a ‘rich young ruler’ who is incapable of giving away all that he owns in order to gain eternal life. As he leaves, Jesus says that it is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle [a small doorway which causes the camel to get down on its belly and crawl through] than it is for the rich to get into heaven. The disciples are for some reason distraught [one can only guess that they hoped to one day be rich, haha] and question how anyone can be saved. To that end, verse 26.

So, the first thing we need to realize is that Jesus isn't saying, in this verse, that ‘all things’ are possible with God, what he is saying is that the only way that we can be saved is through the power of God. In other words, your salvation isn't really about you, so you can stop lording it over the ‘unsaved.

The second thing we need to realize is that Jesus isn't saying that rich people can’t get into heaven; he is merely saying that it is hard. Why? Because they lay up for themselves treasures here on earth and their hearts and minds and souls are where their treasures are. In order for the rich to get into heaven they need to get rid of all of their stuff, at least internally. They need to relinquish their hold on their possessions and give it to God.

The third thing we need to realize, in the world we live in, every single person who is reading this blog is rich. You have access to a computer or a phone or a tablet. You have access to the internet and electricity. You have access to clean drinking water. You most likely own a car and most likely have a college education. Add all of those things together and you are rich. So don’t think that Jesus is talking just about Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey or Donald Trump, he is also talking about us rich people as well. Us rich people who need to humble ourselves and approach the throne on our knees, just like that camel.

+ Do you consider yourself rich? Why or why not?

+ When you have read the story of the rich young ruler, who have you traditionally identified with?