Uncovered and Unrejected; Exposed and Embraced

“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’” (Mark 10:21, NIV).

In the scene described here, Jesus was looking right into this young man’s spirit. Jesus is the Word of God. The Word of God is living and active, penetrating to our soul and spirit “and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12, ESV).

So Jesus was looking right at his inner being. He was discerning the real motivations of his heart. He was seeing right past his carefully maintained veneer of diligent rule-keeping.

Imagine that. If you could see right through people, into what was really going on in the core of them… how would that impact you? It reminds me of a movie I saw years ago, What Women Want. The male protagonist could suddenly hear all the thoughts of those around him. Scary!

What if your hearing could penetrate to perceive people’s inner struggles? What if you had direct eye contact with their greed, their lust, their selfishness? What if you could see every bit of their sin? Would that be off putting?

Jesus does see and hear the inside of us like this. He see your struggles, and He sees mine. He discerns the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. That is what happened with this young man in that moment. He immediately saw that he had a problem with loving his money more than his God. He put His finger gently and lovingly and directly on the issue, inviting this individual into freedom.

I’m thinking Jesus knew what the youth’s answer was going to be. I’m thinking, as He flowed prophetically in those moments, that He anticipated the tacit “no” in the young man’s dejected, reluctant turning away.

And yet, and yet… even seeing his struggle, even looking right at his sin, what was Jesus’ heart response to this individual?

“Jesus looked at him and loved him.” That, my friend, is perhaps the most essential part of the whole story. No matter what is really going on in our deep hearts, Jesus loves you and me. He sees the whole story. He sees right to the core of us. He knows when we are not even ready to surrender to His process with us. And He loves us in our mess. He loves us with everything in Him. He loves us with His entire heart and soul.

That is the starting point. Before anything else, He wants you rooted and grounded in the knowledge of His love for you. All invitation to change and growth flows out of that place.

Right now, Jesus is looking at you and loving you. Nothing in all the universe that you do or don’t do can change that.

He sees you. He sees the very core of you. And He loves you with deep, deep compassion that will never run out. Unchangeably and forever, He loves you.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love…” (Jer. 31:3, ESV).

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If it’s God’s kindness that leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4), how should that inform the way we interact with those who have not yet repented?