Life With God

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Mark 10:26-27: And they were exceedingly astonished and said to Him, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God."

I have heard the same question asked for most of my lifetime after tragedies. Every time the "powers that be" have asked this same question. Whether it is Columbine, 9/11, Sandy Hook, or Parkland, just to name a few, people have been asking, "What can we do to fix this so that it will never happen again?" People have asked for tougher legislation on guns, illegal immigration, airport security, along with many other ways to attempt to fix the problems by means of passing laws or not passing laws. Has legislation worked to keep things from happening again? It has not.

To God, there is no way fix the problem of people by means of legislation. The cause of all "man's inhumanity to man" is SIN. That is why Jesus is saying as He replied to the question, "Who can be saved?" "With man it is impossible." We cannot fix ourselves. We cannot save ourselves. We need to get real with this. Without God, people cannot fix themselves. Without God, we cannot save ourselves. 

If it is impossible with people to fix people, then what do we do? What can be done? There is also a second reality we need to wrap our brains around. With God, all things are possible. With God, and the salvation from sins given to us freely through Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and ascension, we are turned around from the path that we are on. We are "dead to sin and alive to righteousness." We are new people. We have been changed to live a different life.

And what does the new person look like? When we believe in Jesus, the new person repents of his or her sins. The new person's life is marked by being forgiven and forgiving each other. The new person "walks humbly before his God" as well as people. The new person lives by means of the power of God the Holy Spirit who changed his/her life. When evil happens, and it will happen, the new person calls for repentance and for people to turn to God. The new person, also known as a Christian, seeks out to share and show love, to be compassionate and empathetic. The Christian shows the love of God that was manifested in Jesus and that lives out daily through the Christian. We don't show it by posting pictures and phrases on social media. We do face to face, hand to hand, heart to heart, with the real love that radiates from us. 

So Christians, get ready. Call the world to repent of its' sin and turn to God. God is "slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love." Then let the world see God's love through us. God, lead us to salvation and life, Amen.