Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

Devotion based on Mark 10:27

Impossible. What Jesus was asking seemed completely unreasonable. The man he was talking to was a model citizen. But the problem was that he loved his money; it was the most important thing in his life. And God demands undivided allegiance. Put God number one in your life all the time, and eternal life will be yours.

Who can do that? That’s impossible! So many things demand our attention. How can we possibly keep God first one hundred percent of the time? And when we realize how impossible it is, God has us where he wants us.

He wants us to see that what is impossible with man is possible with God. No, I can’t love God with all my heart, soul, and mind, but Jesus did. No, I can’t resist the allure of wealth and worldly possessions, but Jesus did. No, I can’t keep all of God’s commandments, not only with my actions but also with my heart and mind, but Jesus did. No, I can’t earn heaven—and neither can you—but Jesus did.

In shattering our pride and breaking down our self-reliance, Jesus gives us something far more firm and certain. He gives us himself. He invites us to follow him, to watch him die willingly to pay for our sins, to watch him rise from the dead to seal our salvation, to watch him ascend into heaven to prepare a place for us in his kingdom, to wait for his return to take us into the treasures of heaven to which no earthly wealth compares. Jesus, whose holiness, power, and love are without limit, has done the impossible, reconciling us sinners with a holy God, and winning heaven for us.

Now, the answer to who can inherit eternal life changes completely, doesn’t it? Because that inheritance rests in God’s hands, the kingdom of heaven is open to all. Because it depends on the perfect, almighty, and all-loving Son of God, no one is excluded from God’s offer of forgiveness and eternal life.

Who then can be saved? You can. I can. With man, this is impossible, but all things are possible with God.

Prayer: