As I read Mark 10:21 this morning, I was challenged anew by the portrait of Jesus’ love for the rich young ruler. Mark 10:21 says, “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.’” For many, including myself at times, Jesus’ idea of love does not seem to fit the culture’s idea of love. Our culture defines love as an affirmation of the activities and ideas that someone holds dear. Love, according to our culture, is an unequivocal “yes” to however someone wants to live their life. But this is not the case with Jesus.
The love of Jesus is an invitation, a calling away from one’s former way of life to a new way of life. Jesus’ love is no affirmation of what we want to do with our lives. Jesus loves us enough to call us away from that which will destroy us, even if it means offending us. It is telling that after the “rich young ruler” heard Jesus’ answer to his question about eternal life, the “man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.” Many in our day and age would look at the response to Jesus’ call and say that Jesus got it wrong, but we cannot project our cultural definitions of love back on to Jesus. Jesus never gets it wrong.
His call for us to repent of our lifestyle of sin may not be comfortable or pleasant but that does not make it any less true. As Jesus looks at our situations and calls us away from the soul-destroying sin that we are acquainted with, He is doing so as one motivated by love. Love compels Jesus to call us aways from the hoarding of our wealth and our appetites for sexual immorality. He both forgives us and calls us to “go and sin no more.” He loves us that we might leave behind our life of sin and rebellion. Thus, the love of Christ is different, and how grateful we ought to be that it is.
