The Impossible Will Take a Little Longer

There is impossible and then there is impossible.  Some things only seem impossible while others truly are.  I once heard a speaker say, "You have one week to raise $200,000.  How do you do it?"  My first answer was that it's impossible, I don't do it.  Then he rephrased the question, "Your child is sick and on the verge of dying.  There is a procedure that will save his life.  It costs $200,000 and is not covered by insurance.  You have one week.  How do you raise $200,000."

If we allow ourselves to play that game.  If we go beyond the boarder of what is reasonable.  We come up with more options.  There are things to sell, credit cards to max out, retirement accounts to plunder, people we know.  If we do it all, could we come up with the money?  Hard to say.  But there are a lot of options if we let ourselves think about it.

At NASA they have a saying, "The Difficult we can do right away.  The impossible will take a little longer." It is an attitude about pushing boundaries and doing great things.  It reminds us many things that once seemed impossible, happened and are even common place today.  Humanity can do amazing things when we put out minds to it.

But then there is the truly impossible.  It can't happen no matter what we try.  In the Bible are the Ten Commandments.  Rules to live by of course, but there are other rules listed in the Bible.  Things to do or not do.  This link will take you to several Biblical rules and here is another list of Judaic Laws based on the Bible.  The lists go on and on.  The Judaic Law of Mitzvot contains 613 rules.  Then Jesus took this rules business to the next level.  He said that being angry was as bad as murder and lustful thoughts were as bad as adultery. 

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. - Matthew 5:21-22

If you want to think about the truly impossible, not the improbable or difficult, but the truly impossible, think on this.  To be reconciled to God we need to follow them all.  Not most, All.  In school a passing grade is 60%.  The Honor Roll for the As and Bs, but even 99% isn't good enough.  Living a life that is good enough to be Holy in God's sight is IMPOSSIBLE.  And that is where forgiveness comes in.

Watch this clip from Pastor Sparks.

We cannot reconcile ourselves to God on our own terms.  It is impossible, and taking a little longer will only dig us in a deeper hole.  We need the forgiveness of God.  Because that is the only way that the truly impossible can happen.