With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.
Mark 10:27
Sometimes when we see COVID, cancer, and other chronic illnesses, we start to lose hope over time. People fill hospital beds and spend their last days away from family. Maybe you’re struggling with family relationships and think there is nowhere to turn for help. All seems lost. But it isn’t. And it isn’t just about our perspective. Sometimes others tell us if we think positive thoughts, everything will be fine. “Just think it into existence, and it will happen.”
That doesn’t work. I was trying to think a Lamborghini into existence this morning in my driveway and NOTHING! Can you believe it? I got nothing.
Total devotion is possible
Jesus introduces His disciples to another concept this morning in our Scripture. It is something that they most likely knew but needed a strong reminder. A rich young man runs up to Jesus and asks him how he can “inherit eternal life” (Mark 10:17). His mind was eager, but his heart was not. Jesus was not taken or stunned by this man’s question but responded with a piercing statement. He told the young man that no one was good and able to keep the ten commandments.
The young man responded to Jesus by saying he kept all the commandments from his youth (not true – this is impossible – he was lying).
And then we’re given some critical information about Jesus. Verse 21 states that Jesus loved him. Think about that. Jesus loves those who are lost and looking for hope and eternal life. But then Jesus told him he lacked one thing, which was his divided and selfish heart. This young man loved his stuff more than he loved the Savior. It was an excellent lesson for the disciples to hear. Divided devotion will always be a problem, and following Jesus is not a part-time job.
We then learn that the young man went away sorrowful because he was very wealthy and had a great many possessions. Confronted with the reality of giving all of his treasure to the poor, the young man could not give his possessions away and failed the test.
Total devotion is extremely difficult
Jesus teaches His disciples that it is easier to push a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. These words astonished the disciples, and they were confused. I can imagine listening to Jesus talk about camels and eyes of needles and conclude that no one can experience salvation because it is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.
Jesus wanted the disciples to know that following Him was an all or nothing proposition. There were no “halfway” believers. He demands total devotion. The disciples then asked Jesus who could be saved since there was no way a camel could push his way through a needle’s eye.
Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (v.27). Jesus can get that camel through the needle. Jesus can reach down and rescue someone who is headed to an eternal life separated from Him. But this is not without its own set of issues, and these followers will need to experience total devotion to survive.
Total devotion brings blessing and persecution
In verses 29-31, we see where Jesus tells his disciples that those who leave everything for His sake and the sake of the gospel will receive blessing and persecution. That sounds fun! Jesus says we will receive temporal blessings and persecutions, and eternal life with Him.
We want blessings, and God allows persecution. While I do not believe the church in the United States is under any significant threat right now, I believe that people in our communities are less likely to look at churches as a place of healing and hope. That must change, and it can. As believers, we certainly experience blessing in Jesus due to our salvation while wading through persecution’s challenging waters.
So what is the takeaway this morning? I believe that this passage teaches us that Jesus wants total devotion from us regardless of the cost. I also believe that Jesus teaches us that no one is too far from His reach to experience His amazing grace gift of salvation to us.
Are you totally devoted today? If not, what will you do to become a totally faithful follower of Jesus?