Impossible

 I read a story recently that I had to research because, frankly, it sounded fake. However - in Hanover, Germany, there is the grave of a woman named Henriette Juliane Caroline von Rüling who lived from 1756 to 1782. She was only 26 years old when she died. She had given birth to three sons, all of whom had died at birth. Her husband, in his grief, built a large monument at her grave and had the words carved into the rock, "May this tomb bought for eternity never be opened."

Time went by and the tiny seed of a birch tree fell onto the tomb, and the rain washed it into a small crevice between the stones. Over the years as it began to grow larger, it began to push apart the massive blocks of stone. It eventually lifted the entire monument, separated the stones, and snapped the iron fasteners securing it to its foundation. I even found a picture from back in the late 1800's... The tomb that was never to be opened, was cracked and opened - by a birch tree...

We're officially into December, the decorations are up, and Christmas music is playing everywhere. Many people celebrate Christmas without really understanding what it's all about. I'd like to suggest, that grave gives us a hint of why Jesus was born in a manger so long ago.

Sadly, many of us know from experience just how fragile human life is. An accident at work, a car swerves over the middle line, you get a phone call about a loved one - everything changes - forever. I didn't want this to take too dark a turn - but there's a reality that death is...

I. A part of life

And it's not a great part of life. There are a lot of things that happen to us over which we have very little control. And life doesn't have an 'undo button' when things go wrong. Time marches forward, whether we like it or not - and we just have to move on. And that sounds sort of dismal - and it kind of is. Everyone here has probably experienced some kind of loss over their lifetime. King David wrote, in Psalms 39:4-5 (NIV)...

Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. (5) You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath.

It's not my intention to dwell on this idea simply to get us depressed - I want to talk about it in order to remind us that...

A. Jesus is aware

We may feel like we have to deal with being a victim of time and loss by ourselves, but fortunately that's not the case. God, as our Creator, is very aware of the world in which we live, and the situations that come our way that we just can't control. But we are not alone on our journey. I want to look at a story that illustrates God's compassion on someone who felt the acute sting of death.

Now, right before that story, Jesus had just healed the servant of a Roman Centurion and people were pretty excited by seeing His miracles. They were in pretty high spirits as they followed Jesus. And that's when this story collides into another. Let's look at Luke 7:11-13 (NIV)...

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. (12) As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. (13) When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."

There had to be a bit of a 'sea change' of emotion for the crowd with Jesus. They were walking along excited about Jesus' last miracle and just as they were coming into town, a widow with her deceased only son was going out. It's kind of like when you're driving along in your car on a mission and you come across a funeral procession with a hearse - everybody pulls over as a sign of respect, and then you continue on in your business.

Now Jesus had a mission while on this earth, but He wasn't so busy with 'tasks at hand' that He couldn't notice the pain of a mother dealing with the loss of her son. The scripture says, "His heart went out to her". Jesus, the incarnate God of the Universe, God Almighty in the flesh - He stopped what He was doing because He felt the pain of her loss. Here was a mother, a widow, who had already lost her husband to death and once again, was a victim of the pain of death. Jesus understood her loss...

B. However...

Jesus is no one's victim. Others may have seen this as a hopeless situation. But Jesus isn't restricted by words such as 'hopeless'. Let's continue the story in Luke 7:14-16 (NIV)...

Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" (15) The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. (16) They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people."

I've performed many funerals over the years and I've never had anyone stop the pallbearers as they were carrying the body to the grave. And I've never had anyone tell the body to get up and it did! So of course, all the people were shocked and amazed and said, "God has come to help his people."

And even with those words, they didn't know the half of it! When God came to earth in the person of Jesus - everything changed! The way that man related to God changed from that moment on. Even the inevitability, the permanence of death had been changed. The 'laws of nature' that people had come to understand were not hard and fast rules for God.

What goes up must come down. We learn that when we toss a ball into the air - it will come down. Dead is dead. Many kids sadly learn that hard lesson early on with the loss of a pet - a fish, a hamster or a dog. Only in movies and TV do dead people come back to life.

We are subject to all of those permanent rules and many others in this world - God is not. Remember...

II. God wrote the rules

Just last week we talked about Jesus breaking the ceremonial laws. Did you notice in that story that Jesus broke the ceremonial law by touching the 'coffin' - which was probably more of a wicker basket with a cloth over the body. But by reaching out and touching the dead body, He was now 'unclean'. But I didn't see anyone complaining when the boy came back to life!

Now most people would say, "That's impossible! He must have only been sleeping or something... You can't bring the dead back to life!" I find it interesting when very educated individuals, even some Christian people, try to explain away the supernatural aspect of Jesus Himself. They may accept His teachings on love and justice, but then ignore the fact that He was much more than just a good teacher. They want to take away the miracles that He performed in order to make it easier for them, as rational adults, easier to believe.

It's true that normal people can't instantly turn water into wine, walk on water or raise the dead. Jesus can! God wrote the rules; He created this world to behave the way that He wants it to work. If He wants to step outside of those restrictions for His purposes - He can do whatever He chooses! God is not, and never has been, subject to the same rules we are. We see this illustrated again in Peter's words in Acts 3:13-15 (NIV)...

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. (14) You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. (15) You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.

Once again, it is pointed out - that no matter the circumstance...

A. God is in control

Nothing can stop God from doing what He wants; no circumstances, no person - nothing! I don't always understand what He wants, but when Jesus says He "will be with us always" - He means it! God will never be surprised and His plans will never be frustrated. God will not be 'tripped up' by circumstances. Our God is a God, who, just when it seems like things are irreversible and there's no way out - He can do the impossible!

In the Old Testament, when mankind had become so sinful that it looked like everything was hopeless and there was no way for a fresh start - God saved Noah and his family. When God's promise to Abraham that he would be 'the father of many nations' seemed impossible - God stepped in and gave him a son when he was 100 years old. The children of Israel looked like they'd be stuck in slavery in Egypt forever, then God raised up Moses. An unmarried virgin became pregnant, but then an angel announced it was God's own Son. Nothing is impossible for God! He is in control!

We've spent several years being told to 'trust the science'...right? The scientist who led the team that mapped the human genome authored a book explaining why he believes in the existence of God and is convinced that miracles are real. Dr. Francis Collins claims there is a rational basis for a creator and that scientific discoveries bring man "closer to God".

In his book, "The Language of God", he says, "When you make a breakthrough, it is a moment of scientific exhilaration... But it is also a moment where I feel closeness to the creator in the sense of having now perceived something that no human knew before but God knew all along." "When you have for the first time in front of you this 3.1 billion-letter instruction book that conveys all kinds of information...I can't help but look at those pages and have a vague sense that this is giving me a glimpse of God's mind."

Collins was an atheist until he was intrigued by the strength that faith gave to some of his most critical patients. "They had terrible diseases from which they were not going to escape, and yet instead of railing at God they seemed to lean on their faith as a source of great comfort and reassurance... That was interesting, puzzling and unsettling."

Dr. Collins believes scientifically speaking that some miracles are real. "If one is willing to accept the existence of God or some supernatural force outside nature then it's not a logical problem to admit that, occasionally, a supernatural force might stage an invasion."

God is in control and there is no 'problem' in the universe too big for Him to fix. That fact has some very real implications for those who put their trust in Him. Let's look at...

B. What that means for us

Without exaggeration, it means everything! The fact that not even death is a permanent condition, when God is involved, is huge! God is aware of our problems, aware of our hurts, aware of our losses and will take care of them all according to His plan. Let's look at Romans 8:18-23 (NIV)...

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (19) The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. (20) For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope (21) that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

(22) We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (23) Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Things I could do thirty years ago don't seem to be as easy now... Is that just me..? The older I get, there seems to be more of both joys and struggles. We have different 'seasons' of life. Early on, we have seasons where we're 'getting' new things, gaining strength and freedoms as we grow into adulthood. And later, we have seasons where we're losing things, more and more as we age. And the losses really seem to pile up and pick up steam the later we get in life.

I had a friend, who has experienced a lot of loss, remind me that none of this loss really matters when compared to what we gain in Christ. If you add up all of the really bad, awful years you might experience here - hold them up to eternity in God's presence and they don't seem as bad. Even the hardest life, its pain and its struggles fade in comparison to eternity.

Now that's not to say that your problems today aren't real. It doesn't mean they aren't painful. It doesn't mean that awful things that happen to you don't matter - they do. But their significance, their pain lessens when we look at the future that God has planned for those who love Him!

A pediatric oncologist, after seeing everything she did, had a difficult time believing in a loving God. She visited with a mother whose son was diagnosed with leukemia. This woman was taking some courses in religion hoping for some answers of her own. One of the courses was entitled, "Is the resurrection of Jesus Christ relevant today?" The Dr. asked her, "Well, what do you think - is it relevant?" As the mother looked over at her son struggling to breathe, she said with great peace, "I know that it's relevant."

So What?

That open tomb I mentioned at the beginning that was never to be opened...? It became a tourist attraction and is now considered an historic site. Our tombs will not stay closed, either - but they probably won't be opened by a birch tree. Because of Jesus Christ, we are no longer 'victims' of death - we can have hope, no matter the situation. But I'd also like to suggest that we have been given hope... for a reason.

When God chooses to intervene in this world and do something miraculous - it's not just for our benefit. Yes, as we saw in the story earlier, Jesus had compassion on a widow and raised her son - but it wasn't just for her benefit alone. It was also to demonstrate God's love and power to all of those around her as well.

Many of us have seen God do amazing things in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We've witnessed incredible transformations in people's lives. We've witnessed people go through unbelievably difficult situations and remain strong in their faith. God did not sustain us through these hard times just so that we could live quiet lives that make no difference in the lives of those around us.

We have been given hope in order to share it with those who are lost and hurting. God didn't change the very rules of death just so we could sit around and talk - He saved us for a purpose! His plan is to save everyone through Jesus Christ and He has asked us to share that message. At this season in particular, when people may be a little more receptive - let's continue to serve our miraculous God and make a difference for His Kingdom!