Tough Love
And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, 'You lack one thing.’ (Mark 10:21)
Mk. 10:17-27; Ezek. 33:31; Ps. 62:10; Mt. 4:19; Eph. 4:15, IT1m. 6:6-10
What Is God Saying?
We already looked at the lack of the Rich Young Ruler. Today in another Gospel (but the same story), we focus on the love of the Lord. One time, as Jesus was starting on a journey, a young man came running up to him and knelt. Note the eagerness with which he came and the earnestness of his desire to learn. He ran. He knelt. He asked. He wanted an answer. He wanted the answer.
What do you give a man who has everything? Jesus knew what he needed. He needed to be told that he didn't have everything, everything had him. His eagerness in the running and his earnestness in asking, coupled with personable qualities that Jesus perceived, drew the Lord to him. Our text says He loved him. This was the kind of person whose exceptional gifts should not be wasted, but his promising life needed to be released from its dependency on things. So it was tough love that came to the point, ‘Sell what you have and give the money to the poor.’ That was the one thing he didn't want to do. The man who ran to Jesus turned sadly away from Jesus. Jesus loved him despite his riches but lost him because of his riches. Jesus spoke the truth in love.
How Does This Apply To Us?
It is the way of true love never to disguise nor avoid the truth. What is truth spoken in love exposing in our lives? For the Rich Young Ruler, it was his abundance that proved to be his deficiency. Is the Lord convincing us of something that needs to be dealt with in our lives? God’s love at times will make us uncomfortable. When something is lacking, let our love for Him respond to His love for us by saying, ‘Yes, I see the problem and, yes, I will do what is necessary to remove it.’
Pray With Me
Dear Lord, thank You for loving me even though You know my faults, loving me enough to speak about my lack and giving me a stern warning. It is good to know that Your love-which covers a multitude of sins-is the love which comes right to the point of sin. Your love is benevolent goodwill. My need is not to be comfortable in Your presence now but to be fit for Your presence always and forever.
The rich young man could not take the one hard step. He could not make the single, brave decision. His great possessions blinded him to the greatest possessions. He could not give up what he had and what he was in order to become all that he might be in the Lord. He went away from You with sorrow; he could have followed You with joy. Lord, whatever Your love requires, I would find it in my heart to do—not to avoid Your disfavor but to find the greatest of all treasures, being with You in the joy of Your presence and following You in the service of Your love.
For Your sake, dear Lord, that I might find Your blessing. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
Although we find comfort in prayer, there will be moments when the truth and the love of God will expose a wrong that needs righting, a wound that needs healing, a letter that needs to be written, a passion that needs surrendering, a relationship that needs breaking. None of these is comfortable. God comes to us in prayer through the uncomfortable to lead us to real comfort. Have our prayers, perhaps, been too comfortable lately?
