Impossible

Do I believe in the impossible? Do you? Why not? And why do I assume that you do not? Is it because that's the way we live, talk, act, think? Or rather, have conditioned ourselves to think.

Do we really not believe in the impossible? Then what is it inside of ourselves that draws us to the impossible when others reveal it, speak of it, only to reject it when it becomes too close to real, yet too inexplicable to our well-trained conventions? Could it be the truth?

What is impossible? To some it is very truth itself. What they have not seen, touched, or heard cannot be real. No, in fact, even if they have sensed it, if they cannot explain it, then it cannot be real. It was the senses playing tricks, some bad left-over gruel as Dickens' Scrooge might say.

And so to these people, they would not believe the impossible if they saw it with their very eyes.

Impossible is, in fact then, a state of mind. Fear often controls us more than any other emotion or conviction. We fear the pain, the unpleasantness, the awkwardness. We fear anger and failure and loss. We fear each other, our enemies, and even those we love most. But most of all, we fear the unknown. This is where impossible is born. In the fear of the unknown. We've never seen it, we don't know about it, it doesn't fit into any of our boxes or systems, so naturally we fear. The fear of the unknown is perhaps the strongest of all, because we have no way to fight it. And so we respond the same way my older brothers used to respond to me when I was being obnoxious and annoying: "ignore it and it will go away." So we ignore it. We deny its existence. We deny even its possibility; we label it-- it's impossible. Not reality.

But is it? Really?

"You can't see gravity, but it still exists." A poor example often used to try to prove the existence of God. Trying prove the possibility of a thing commonly thought impossible is different. Still the principle applies. Conventional wisdom tells us that certain things are impossible: a stairway to heaven; a tunnel to China; a true disappearing act; a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people-eater. But what are these labels of impossible based upon? An argument from silence. The fact that we've never seen one. So seriously, what else is called impossible and accepted as such? Suppose it's only because we haven't yet opened the right door?

Now, lest we get carried away and start jumping off buildings in attempts to fly, let me say that I'm not trying to prove the existence or the possibility of anything. I'm just traveling a road of thought.

Let's remember that impossible is actually a reality confirmed by God Himself (Mk 10:27). Jesus' disciples were confused-- worse-- they were filled with consternation and, without doubt, fear itself. "Who can avoid death, if even the richest, most law-abiding, moral man is condemned?" And, yes, Jesus confirms their fears, "With people it is impossible to avoid death." And so there are certain things that are impossible-- under certain conditions. "With people . . . " There is the reality that most of us live in. We all know (in our right minds) that there are many things that are impossible with people. If left only up to people. But that's an if that doesn't have to be reality. You see, in the same sentence Jesus says "but not with God; for all things are possible with God." All things . . . do you believe that? All things. A camel can pass through the eye of a needle. A rich man can enter into the kingdom of God (why doesn't that shock us Americans?). Blind men can see. Cripples can dance. The deaf can hear the mute sing, and dead men can get up and live again. Here. Now. All things. Reality. Do you believe it? Do you live in it? What is impossible to you?

Many people today claim to have witnessed or even experienced miracles. Some people say the age of miracles passed into history with the death of the last New Testament apostle. Some say there never was any miracle. They've never experienced one, but if they did, they would doubt their senses or state of mind instead of recognizing the hand of God. Would you?

What is impossible? What reality do you live in? The reality of all possible? Jesus has something to say about this reality. Mark records a powerful statement just before Jesus casts a demon out of a boy. The disciples tried and failed. The father of the boy was struggling with unbelief. His plea for help was disclaimed with "if you can do anything . . ." "If you can? All things are possible to him who believes." There was authority in those words. Authority from heaven. Authority that changed this man's plea from "if you can do anything" to "I believe! Help my unbelief!" Authority that changed reality. You know the end. A demon who was overpowering to every other human attempt was subdued by the impossibility-destroying power of God. Impossible? Depends. Do you believe?

Not so many things are impossible when you're living in the reality of Divine Power.