All Things Are Possible With God

Week of October 11, 2015

What must we do to inherit eternal life?  What must we do to enter the Kingdom of God?  What must we do to get to heaven?   All of these questions are important.  All lead us to a great awakening within ourselves.  We always seem to get the things done that we see as most important.  We call it prioritizing.  And when we are focused, that priority becomes a reality.  From house cleaning to planning a vacation, from winterizing the garden to getting the house decorated for the holidays, deadlines help us prioritize.  When we do this we move from potential to action, from possibility to actuality.  So how do we prioritize about heaven?  We all want to go.  We all want that to be our destination after we die.  Jesus tells the one questioning to live a good life, follow the commandments, sell what you have and give it to the poor.  Jesus invites him to look deeply at the distractions that can hold you back from staying focused.

Every day starts with the best of intentions, yet sometimes we get sidelined.  Sometimes we lose focus.  Jesus reassures us all the things we do can only get us so far.  God is telling us our best is expected, yet our imperfections will lead us to falter.  So then who can be with the Lord in eternal life?   For with God all things are possible.  What God longs for most is our acknowledgment that we cannot go it alone, we need His help.  It is by the gift of His Son dying on the cross that we have the invitation to eternal life.  It is by the gift of His Son dying on the cross that the doors of heaven have been flung open and we can live in the presence of God.  It is by the gift of the death of His Son dying on the cross that we have hope.

This Sunday thousands of runners will begin the Chicago Marathon.  While I am not running, I will be there as a part of the team.  My role is praying with the Executive Race Director and the Director of the Medical Team, as well as others who gather, long before dawn, to ask God to be present to all those who are making the finish line their destination on this given morning.  Many charities are rewarded by the efforts of many runners raising money as a part of their marathon journey.  Many run just to do it; to prove something to themselves and to others.  For me, in the fourteen marathons that I have run, there was a realization that I could not make it alone.  I needed the people on the sidelines encouraging me.  I needed the belief of others that I would finish.  But in all of the races I ran, I knew God was with me.  I knew that the journey would draw me closer to Him.  There is not a time when I watch at the finish line that I do not have tears in my eyes–not just for the amazement of the elite runners, but for those who finish in the four to six hour range.  Their determination to walk, to persevere, to make a difference inspires me.

All things are possible for God.  All things are possible with God and all things are possible in God.  Let Him lead us to the finish line of eternal life.

Rev. John J. Ouper