He Knows Already

Mark 10:17-22  And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said tohim, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.” And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.


I love this passage for so many reasons. First I have heard similar kinds of self approval over and over. The young man claiming he had done all this since he was young is a perfect example. I have said in my own life and listened to so many others say "I'm a good person, I'm not perfect but I'm a good person". It appears that Jesus is saying that is just not good enough if we are holding back. What we hold back creates an obstacle for Jesus blessings for our lives. He seeks to remove them all. A good person is just not good enough.


The second ingredient of the account that captures my attention is that Jesus knew enough about the young man to find the obstacle. We often act as if God did not know what is going on with us. We pretend that we can keep little secrets from God, little pieces of our lives that we can hide away so God won't see them. Jesus saw every flaw and weakness in the rich young man and picked what might catch his attention. At least at that moment he rejected Jesus invitation, the obstacle was to important to him to remove.


Another focus for me and the last for today is that Jesus looked at him and loved him. My Lord who knows all my baggage, and from time to time points it out, loves me. He doesn't point out my weaknesses to hurt me, but rather because he knows that those very things I resist giving up hurt me. He doesn't stop loving me if the obstacles remain. Jesus will look for another opportunity to convict me of my flaws so I can get rid of them and the bondage that goes with them. You see Jesus knew that the rich young man would never be free as long as he was in bondage to his possessions, and he knows what binds me. He will help us to be set free if we let him.