All Things Are Possible in the With-God Life

 With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God. (Mark 10:27)

The other day someone asked me if I was a positive person. I had trouble answering. Inside I feel full of doubt and distrust, but often when I open my mouth, I am compelled to say something good or even hopeful. I do not think this is all bad. Sometimes the words I need to hear come unexpectedly from my own mouth.

This verse, however, is not so much about positivity, but proximity. Most people are familiar with "all things are possible with God." I think we often say, "All things are possible for God," but that is not what this says or means. The Greek word para used with God in the dative has this sense: "with persons to denote proximity, as in Lk.9:47, being at home or in a household, and presence, fellowship, or sphere of influence." (TDNTA) Being with God is what makes all things possible for us.

On the other hand, being with humanity alone is what makes things impossible. It is not because people are bad necessarily, but because they are finite. The bad part comes when people do not recognize their finitude and do not seek God for his strength and grace. Instead we rely on ourselves and our movements and ideas to solve our problems.

History teaches us one important thing about humanity. Human problems cannot be solved by human solutions. We are not enough individually or corporately to handle the problems we have. It was never meant to be this way. This can make one hopeless or it can help one put hope and faith in the right place: in a life with God.