loved

There's a moment described in Mark 10 that amazes me. A wealthy young man is talking to Jesus about inheriting eternal life. When Jesus explained about obedience, the young man was excited, because he'd been faithfully doing those thing since he was a boy.

And then this, in Mark 10:21-22 "Jesus looked at him and loved him. 'One thing you lack,' he said. 'Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth." 

This isn't a new story to me; I've read it dozens of times and heard it preached more than once. But the new thing for me this morning was the comment that Jesus loved him. More to the point, the location of that comment in the narrative struck me. 

Right after the young man proclaims his faithfulness, and right before Jesus laid this last requirement on him, Jesus loved him. Jesus loved him right at the moment where he knew that this man's point of failure was coming.

Yes, Jesus knew this man's love of his wealth was going to be a burden to him. He knew the thing the man loved most, maybe as much as he loved God. He knew the young man would be saddened by this requirement. And he loved him anyway.

Does that mean God loves me even when I cling to the most precious of my worldly things? That even as I struggle to put him first, even as I make choices that put him in the back seat, he loves me? That at those points he knows I'm about to blow it, he looks at me and loves me?

Yes! I think that's exactly what these few words mean. In all the ugliness of my struggles with sin, God watches me win and lose, and lose, and win, and loves me through all of it. Oh, I'm sure there's some sorrow there too, but mostly he just loves me. It's a hugely comforting thought.

Another hopeful note in this story is that it doesn't say anywhere that the young man didn't obey Jesus' hard command. That's the assumption we draw, but I like to think that maybe the sad young man did as he was commanded, that he gave everything away and spent his life serving God's people. I like to think that in the end he had great joy through obedience.

Probably not. A more likely ending, only slightly less happy, is that he went back to his wealth, but found he didn't enjoy it as much anymore. For a while he went on as before, but eventually this thing that stood between him and his God became less and less attractive, until he found in the end he'd rather live without his money that give up being close to God.

You see, that's how sin most often works for me. It's a long, up-and-down process giving it up, and some sins I find I still haven't. That's why I'm so comforted by the idea that, even as I'm ready to fail again, maybe at a point where I'm feeling good about my faith, God knows what's coming and loves me anyway. Loves me through it.

What do people do without this God?