With God, all things are possible. When we hear this, we should take it for what it is, a message of hope. All things are possible. God’s desire that all shall be saved must be possible. Those who would deny this possibility would deny the hope which Jesus wants us to have. Those who would deny it is God’s desire must deny Scripture because Scripture, and even if it was not explicitly stated in Scripture, it could be deduced from the way God is revealed to be love. This is not to say we know how things will turn out; we have hope, not a certainty, about the eschatological end for creation. And yet, even if we do not know what things will be like, our hope should be enough to carry on so that we do not end up falling into some sort of despair for ourselves, for others, or for creation itself.
We can conceive of many ways God’s desire can be achieved, at how God will make it possible. The book of Hebrews tells us that our God is a consuming fire, that God will refine and purify us all of us as we come into the presence of our creator. Those who open themselves to God, that is, those who have learned to die to themselves, will discover what purification they still need when they die will be far less to those who have not begun to let themselves change and become better. Authentic self-denial is established not out of hate but with love. It has us reject any temptation we have to be selfish; we will open ourselves up to others, embracing and forming positive relationships with them as we give ourselves to them with our love. The more we love, the more we will find ourselves open to and able to unite with God, because God is love. We will find ourselves becoming one with God’s fiery love when we encounter it, without losing our personal distinction, experiencing it with the joy that is had when we experience such great love.
Jesus shows us through his life, and through his teachings, many ways we should engage proper self-denial. He lived what he taught, showing us that it is important to live out the implications of our faith. He gave us our prime example of what one who lives their life following the way God wants us to live will be like. We should be willing to do what we can for the good of others, showing others love and respect, especially those who suffer great cruelty from society at large. We should not become selfish, seeking to possess external riches at the expense of others, accumulating them beyond our need. The more we become attached to such wealth, not allowing it to be used as needed for the benefit of all, the more we circumvent the just distribution of goods, the more we find our love for wealth will get in our way with our love for God and the people God wants us to love. That is, our attachment to the goods of the earth, our avarice, will get between us and God, preventing us from attaining unity with God. As long as such attachments remain, we will not be able to fully enter into the kingdom of God. So long as we resist the way God works to purify us and help us overcome those attachments, we will find our experience of God’s love, while in the presence of God, as being the purifying fire that keeps coming at us to refine us and make us ready for the kingdom of God. If we never give up our attachments, that process will never end. However, if and when we relent, we can be saved, and since we do not know if anyone will ever hold on indefinitely to such attachments, we can hope for our the salvation of all. This is one of many things we can learn from Jesus’ encounter with a rich young man, a man who thought himself great in following the way of God and yet revealed he was not because of his attachment to wealth:
And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have observed; what do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. (Matt. 19:16-22 RSV).
The young man went away depressed because he thought he could follow God and mammon, that he could follow the dictates of avarice while obeying the other commandments, only to find he far from receiving what he truly desired, the kingdom of God. What we are not told is that the man could not and would not eventually be saved. What we are told is how difficult it is going to be for him to be saved, not because it is difficult for God, but because it is difficult for the rich young man to accept the reform he needs to be saved:
And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:23-26 RSV).
While we make make it difficult for ourselves to be saved, no matter how difficult we make it, God can find a way to help us, to correct us, to free us from our own ego, and save us. God will never give up on us even if we give up and turn our back on God. No one would be saved if God were not relentless. But since God will not give up, even for the worst of us, salvation is possible, for with God, all things are possible.
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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.
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