Even as He Walked Away

On the roads of Perea,

Headed to Jerusalem.

People, dust, sweat: the smell of life.

Down these roads went Life Himself.

Bearded, surrounded, sweaty,

Dusty.

Jesus, teacher, Faithful Savior.

He walks, stops, talks,

Teaches.

And as He goes

And as He travels

There in Perea, the crowd parts

For one.

He looks like money,

Smells like it too.

Entourage in tow, the rich man.

The young man.

The man who oversees much:

He is the one and only:

The rich, young ruler.

Jesus and the disciples,

The crowd listening in,

And the rich young ruler,

Falling to his knees,

He asks a question.

And at its heart, it is thus:

“What must I do to be with You?”

See, this young man,

He has a soul-stirring,

Heart-hurting,

Heavenly hole in his life.

Something, he knows, isn’t right.

And so, in this holy discomfort,

This man seeks out the Teacher.

Maybe, just maybe, He can help.

And as he approaches this Good Teacher,

The Holy Son,

God wrapped in flesh,

He asks, eyes transfixed on the Rabbi:

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Because wouldn’t Jesus know?

Couldn’t He say?

If He is really the Truth, the Life,

The Way?

And so Jesus, Son of Man,

Calls out a checklist.

Do not,

And do.

This man? He knows the Scripture.

And this man? He does what it says.

And yet,

Jesus, Light of the World,

He dives deeper. He digs in.

He draws out.

But dragging? Not quite.

Rather, His only directive?

Go, sell everything.

Give it away.

Follow me.

And we know this:

The rich young ruler slipped away.

He staggered off in shame.

He stepped back to his retinue.

Gone.

See, I have always read this story,

Situated there in Mark 10,

And I have always missed

Seven

Little

Words.

Before the ruler walked away,

Before Jesus explained,

Before Jesus told him the one thing he lacked,

“Jesus looked at him and loved him.”

You see,

I have this vision of Jesus,

in this moment,

Looking at this man,

He tilts his head to the side,

gets a little lump in His throat.

I think Jesus had to take a breath in and out.

I think that breath might have been a little shaky.

I think that, when He looked at the man,

there were tears in His eyes.

Because Jesus knew.

Jesus knew the desperation in front of him,

The earnestness of a heart reaching for God,

Only to be hindered by wealth.

Because idolatry causes isolation,

And our soul, it longs for a place with You.

And yet? And so?

“Jesus looked at him and loved him.”

Much can be learned from You.

In fact? All we really need to know.

So, Holy Jesus,

Let us see with Your eyes,

And let us love with Your heart.

“Jesus looked at him and loved him.”

Let us look on others full on:

Lord, don’t let us look past them.

Don’t let us overlook their pain.

Like You, Sweet Jesus,

Let us love people in their mess.

Don’t let us ignore it.

You look at us, truly seeing us.

You speak to us, faithfully directing us.

And You know of our hearts, fearlessly loving us.

Let me look like You.

“Jesus looked at him and loved him.”

Let us love, no matter the outcome:

Because Jesus, Good Jesus,

You knew.

You know that which we cannot,

And you comprehend the unfathomable.

You knew the direction he would walk:

You knew he would walk away.

And yet, and yet, and yet,

You loved him just the same.

Let me love like You:

Even when that love is unmatched,

One-sided,

Unrequited.

Lord, let me love like you.

“Jesus looked at him and loved him.”

Therefore, Lord, let us see the intentions,

Even when the actions go astray.

Because Jesus, Merciful Jesus,

You saw his earnestness, and too,

You see ours.

You knew he was wrong.

You knew he missed it.

And yet still, You loved him just the same.

Lord, let me see the heart like you.

“Jesus looked at him and loved him.”

So, Lord, let us love with truth.

Truth and honesty: the product of love.

See, Jesus knew the truth:

In fact, He was the Truth.

Jesus knew the right way to heaven:

In fact, He was the Way.

And so,

in His abounding love,

He pointed the rich young ruler to Life,

And He was honest about the cost.

No defensiveness,

Only gracious honesty.

You gave the truth

And let it be enough.

So Lord, Gracious Lord,

Let us love in truth,

Yet truth that abounds with grace,

Mercy,

Compassion.

Let us check our judgments at the door,

Along with our harshness

And self-righteousness.

Lord, let me love honestly like you.

You love us,

You call us by name,

Let us not miss that call.

And when we get off track,

Let us be faithful

to answer the call back.

Remind us we are undeserving,

And let us look upon others with

Your mercy,

Your dignity,

Your grace,

Your faithfulness,

Knowing that You value the multitudes.

Because that kind of love?

That’s the love that makes others

Think and rethink,

View and review

Every choice, priority, cost, and sacrifice.

That rich young ruler?

Maybe, just maybe,

He thought about that young Rabbi,

And it might just be that he turned away,

But only momentarily.

Maybe he went home,

Rethought, reviewed,

And eventually,

Found the Lord of all

Worth the sacrifice.

I hope he did.

Easily Excitable