Killer Garage Sale...

Mark 10:17-27 – The Rich Young Ruler

We’ve all heard the story of the Rich Young Ruler a million times right? And normally the moral of the story is: if you’re not willing to give up everything to follow Jesus, then you’re not getting into the Kingdom of Heaven. I mean, it sure seems like that is the main point of the story, right. I can accept this difficult truth knowing that God’s kindness is what leads us to repentance (Ro 2:4). That said, since the Bible never tells us what happens to that rich young man, I am holding out hope that eventually he held a killer garage sale and there were some pretty sic looking poor people back in the day. Yes, I’m optimistic that I just might see him in heaven…can you wear Prada in Heaven? Ah…I digress…

Let's journey together through the narrative from a different vantage point. I want us to focus on something that I bet most of us overlook. We miss it because we tend to look at this Scripture with sad faces…with the doom and gloom eyes of….poor guy…he’s going to burn! 

I want us to see two really important things and focus on them for just a moment. Look at verse 21… “Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him.” I really paused and thought; how cool is that? Picture the scene…a very well dressed man kneeling before the Lord asking one of the most important questions a person could possible ask; “how can I obtain eternal life?” It’s obvious he knows he’s missing something. I think Jesus looks intently into his eyes and lets this young ruler see this genuine love inviting him to draw close. Who knows, this rich young ruler possibly came expecting Jesus to pat him on the back and say, "well done, that’s it!" However, we do know this, Jesus’ look of love comes BEFORE this young ruler has the opportunity to respond correctly to Jesus. Did you catch that…Jesus doesn’t look at him with genuine love AFTER he gives Him the right answer to the all-important question. This young man was still in the middle of questioning and searching! Jesus loves him in the middle of the search, and He doesn’t stop loving him when he walks away…when he doesn’t make the best decision. Wow…can you see that? Jesus’ love is solid and unmovable!

Why is it so important that we really understand this kind of unmovable and solid love? Jesus made it pretty clear that doing the right thing (making the right choice) isn’t possible for man, but it is possible for God (vs. 27). God knows we can’t live this life on our own. He knows we need Him. So, if God created us to need Him, and making good decisions apart from Him is impossible, then why would He stop loving us when we walk away…when we don’t make the right choice? We are totally dependant on His love! Seriously, this young ruler made a real “dude…no way!” choice. He looked like he was saying “no thanks” to the offer of a pretty sweet life with Jesus. For us it is no different. We walk away from the sweet life all the time, don’t we? And I know for me, I need to see those genuine eyes of love looking at me while I search, when I walk away, when I’m struggling or when doing the right thing isn’t even on my list of options for the moment. I’m thankful he didn’t shame the rich young ruler or make him feel like donkey dung…even though He knew he would walk away. He looked at him with genuine love…let that soak in…genuine love!

So today, I’m reminding us to focus on His love. He loves you no matter what. He loves you while you search, through your bad choices, when you turn your back, when you question, or when you feel like giving up. He knows that life without Him is impossible. He knows that making wise choices without His power is impossible. So, bask in His love for you today…and let Him fill you up to overflowing. He loves you…and He will live the impossible life through you every day!

Remember, you are His masterpiece…and nothing you do will ever change that! (Eph 2:10)