“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’”
— Mark 10:27 ESV
I was stretched out on the porch this morning, enjoying the sunrise while my human sipped his coffee and read his Bible. Life was good. Full belly, soft bed, and not a cat in sight needing to be chased.
Then my human started reading about a rich man who walked away from Jesus because he had too much stuff.
Now, I don’t know much about money. Never had a dollar in my life. But I’ve buried enough bones in the backyard to understand the desire to hang on to what you’ve got.
Problem is, I’ve buried so many bones I can’t remember where half of them are.
My human chuckled and said, “Old boy, sometimes what we hold on to ends up holding on to us.”
Well, that got me thinking.
In Mark 10, Jesus had just watched a wealthy young man walk away sorrowful because he couldn’t let go of his possessions. Jesus then told His disciples how difficult it was for those who trust in riches to enter God’s Kingdom.
They were shocked. In their minds, wealth looked like God’s blessing. Surely someone who had everything was doing something right.
But Jesus turned their thinking upside down.
You see, the problem wasn’t that the man had possessions. The problem was that his possessions had him.
And there’s a difference.
Peter reminded Jesus that the disciples had left everything to follow Him. Jesus assured them that nothing surrendered for His sake and the Gospel would go unnoticed. But He also reminded them that the first would be last, and the last first.
That’s not how the world measures greatness.
The world says accumulate more.
More money.
More recognition.
More influence.
More stuff.
Build your kingdom bigger and make sure everybody notices.
Jesus says, “Follow Me.”
And following Him means loosening our grip on anything competing for His place in our hearts.
Here’s what struck this old dog. Jesus wasn’t teaching that giving everything away earns salvation. He was showing that salvation can’t be bought, achieved, or accumulated. What is impossible for us is possible with God.
Grace changes what we treasure.
I’ve watched my human hold on to things that didn’t matter nearly as much as he thought they did. Truth is, I’ve done the same with a chewed-up tennis ball.
But the greatest things in life aren’t things we can pile up. They’re found in knowing Jesus, trusting His promises, and surrendering our lives to Him.
Maybe the question isn’t how much we’ve accumulated.
Maybe it’s how much we’re willing to surrender.
Because greatness in God’s Kingdom isn’t measured by what we possess, but by whom we follow.
And sometimes, before God can fill our hands with what truly matters, we’ve got to open them.
Just an old dog learning that a surrendered heart is worth more than a backyard full of buried bones.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
