Bible reflections - with God all things are possible
It is a common Christian saying that with God all things are possible; and this is true, but not in the sense that you might first think. It sounds almost like a magic spell, or a get out of jail free card. But for a Christian, the fact that you believe in God does not mean you will necessarily get everything you want.
If you want to get a real understanding of what this saying means, you need to go to its source - the Bible. In the New Testament of the Bible, there is the record of a conversation that took place between Jesus and a person who is described as ‘a wealthy man’. The wealthy man is very excited to meet Jesus and he wants to know what he has to do to inherit eternal life i.e. to be a part of the Kingdom of God that Jesus preached about.
So Jesus says to him, “I am sure you know these commandments! You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud; honour your father and mother.” To this, the wealthy man confidently replies that he has kept all these since he was a boy.. Jesus observes him compassionately, and says to him, “One thing you lack, go and sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me”. Upon hearing this, the man's attitude changed and he walked away very sad, because he had so many things to give up!
The Bible record says that Jesus then looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” And this amazed the disciples. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”
Jesus is actually talking about how anyone can inherit eternal life. And it's true, no human so far has been able to work out how to live forever - and to be honest, why would you want to with the world in such a bad state! However what God is offering is a time of peace: His ‘Kingdom on earth’ when not only will the Earth be a place without any of the problems that are in it now, but also a place where people will live forever.
This is what the wealthy man in Matthew 19 wanted to know about. How can I be a part of that? The key here is those words ‘with God’. Jesus is talking about overcoming all obstacles to please God, and the beauty of what he is saying is that God Himself gives us the answers to any problems we may face. There is no better example of this than Jesus Christ himself. Because every time Jesus was tempted, every time he struggled, he turned to God.
So, put simply the Bible tells us that if we put all our trust in God, then we can do all that God wants of us, including being a part of His Kingdom.