“Jesus looking at him loved him…”
I was watching a movie the other day, and one of the characters asked about love. And she asked, “Does love mean thinking about the other person fifty-times more than myself, throughout the day?”
And I have been thinking about that very much over the last few days. You see, in that movie, the other characters reassured the character that she was right to feel that this was not love. But I considered it from the eyes of Our Lord, and I am not sure I came to the same understanding…
After all, Christ did not say His own Name more than mine… He has called me by my name and I am His – after all…
And then there are the stories in the Gospels…
“A man ran up and knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You know the commandments’ ...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.” (Mark 10:17-30).
And there was the young man who came to Christ, and he spoke to Him. And “Jesus looking at him loved him.” And then – because He LOVED HIM so much – that He asked that young man for more… And that is what I have been thinking about – that request of Christ.
First, we are told that He loved that young man. And I can imagine the scene. I can imagine how the young man must have felt when Christ looked at the young man with love. I can imagine how that young man’s heart must have beat knowing that God Himself loved him – and not just theoretically, but in the very flesh, face to face, as one Man to another man… And Christ loved him for him and He also loved what he did and had done.
And as a result of that great love, we are told about the second thing... We are told that He asked the young man to give up the rest of what he had.
And that has stuck in my mind. You see, all this time I have been thinking to myself that those little sacrifices that God asks of me are such a pain. I have been thinking that it is terrible to have to bear such sacrifices in my life. And yet, it seems that God asks these things of those who He most loves. And so, the next time I am feeling worn out or overwhelmed by the requests of my God, I am going to remember that young man, because “Jesus looking at him loved him…” And I am going to ask my God to do the same to me – and to give me the Grace to say yes to the giving…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
Comments