Hydrogen · Faith
All things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23)
"All things are possible to him that believeth" is in Mark 9:23. The text, the scene in which it was said and what the phrase means to Bairo.
Few sentences from the Bible circulate so widely outside it. It's on truck bumpers, on gym walls, in photo captions. And it almost always appears alone, without the scene that gives it weight.
The scene matters. Because the sentence wasn't said to a confident hero. It was said to a tired father.
The text
The sentence is in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 9, verse 23. In the King James Version:
"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." (Mark 9:23)
In a modern translation, the English Standard Version, the same passage sounds like this:
"And Jesus said to him, 'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes."
The scene
A man arrives in the middle of a crowd bringing his son. Since childhood the boy has suffered from an affliction that throws him down and leaves him speechless, and the text describes it as a mute spirit. The father had already asked the disciples for help, and they hadn't managed anything.
When he finally stands before Jesus, the father no longer asks with certainty. He asks with doubt: "if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us" (verse 22).
It's to that doubt that Jesus responds. The man had said "if thou canst". The answer hands the "if" back to the one who asked: if thou canst believe.
And then comes the next verse, perhaps the most human in the chapter:
"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." (Mark 9:24, King James Version)
Notice what this father does. He doesn't fake a faith he doesn't have. He says both things at once: I believe, and I lack belief. And the text tells that, after this, the boy was lifted by the hand and stood up.
Sources: Mark 9:23-24, Almeida Corrigida Fiel (Portuguese) · Mark 9:23-24, Almeida Revista e Atualizada (Portuguese) · Mark 9, Almeida Corrigida Fiel (Portuguese)
In Bairo's view
When Bairo says that all things are possible for those who believe, this is the text echoing behind it. The faith that sustains it he found in a Christian congregation, listening to accounts from ordinary people who had come through what seemed to have no way out. That's where he came to believe in the God of the impossible, as told in The God of the impossible.
He links this faith to the 21 cm yardstick. In his spiritual reading, hydrogen, the simplest and most abundant element, is an image of a God who is everywhere, and the electron's flip is an image of a life that can turn. It isn't science, and he doesn't present it as science. It's how a man who lost almost everything explains to himself why he got back up.
And it's important to say what the phrase is not, even for him. It isn't a promise that everything will work out for everyone. Bairo's story refutes that promise: he fell too many times. For him, all things are possible means the impossible isn't a wall, it's a place not yet reached. Faith opens the door. The step still belongs to the one who walks.
For you
If you believe, verse 24 may be the more useful of the two. You don't need a perfect faith to ask for help. You can come like that father: with tears, saying you believe and that you lack belief. The text doesn't send him away for it.
If you don't believe, the scene still has something to say. The father had already tried and it hadn't worked. Even so, he asked again. Persisting after the first refusal, admitting your own doubt out loud, not giving up on your son: none of that requires religion.
And notice that the phrase doesn't say everything is easy. It says it's possible. Between the possible and the done, there's always a road to travel, and no one travels it for you. Faith, for those who have it, is the courage to take the first step on it without seeing the end.
And if you're in a place where nothing seems possible, don't go through it alone. If the pain has grown too big, in Brazil call 188. CVV answers for free, at any hour. Elsewhere, reach out to your local crisis line.