Impossibilities

“But Jesus said to [his disciples] again,
‘Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle

than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’

And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’

Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God.
For all things are possible with God.’”

Mark 10:24-27

We have learned that Papua New Guineans have tradition very ingrained in their world view.  Even when a new idea is introduced (whether it deals with religion, business, relationships, etc) and adopted into their way of living, tradition wins in many cases.  I probably shouldn’t generalize this to all Papua New Guineans, so I’ll say that many of them do what their parents/grandparents/ancestors did simply because it’s “what you do”.  There is no other option.  For example, one might say that he is a believer in God but because it’s “what you do”, they will not stop fighting their neighbors (seeking revenge, killing, going to war on behalf of their allies).

So then the question was asked from a fellow POC participant, “Then how can any of them be truly saved?”

I immediately thought of what the disciples asked in Mark 10: “Then who can be saved?”  And Jesus’ answer: “With man it is impossible, but not with God.  With God all things are possible.”

There’s no way these people can be saved… actually, there’s no way any of us can be saved… apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.  We may look at our situations and think, “It’s impossible.”  And it’s true- for man.  But not with God.

Pray for the impossible!

Here is a pic of our whole group, students and staff, at POC