Jesus saw the man...

Earlier this summer while at a church conference (the same one I mentioned in It's all heart.) a different speaker used the story of Jesus and the Rich Young Man (Mark 10:17-31). Some translations say the Rich Young Ruler. Either way, it's the same story. The actual sermon was about idolatry and putting things before God. Leave it to me to get stuck on another point, though. Verse 21 caught my attention and has had it captured pretty much all summer. It says, "Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him...." Why does that mean so much to me? Lots of reasons. At the time is spoke to me because of a personal matter in my life where two people that I cared about were at odds. (More like, one was just living their life and the other was holding a grudge and would not let it go.) When I heard this verse, the first thing I thought of was forgiveness. Here's an excerpt from my notes from the sermon on this particular verse:

It's Christ-like to see someone for who they are, and love them still. Jesus sees him in his condition, loves him, and offers help. It is unfair for us to be unwilling to offer up ourselves and our love/grace to others, but expect it from Jesus. We are called to love and pour into the lives of others even though they may be in the wrong (and we aren't?) and to meet them where they are. 

So that's where this verse initially had me. I found it really fitting to this particular situation, but it continued to speak to me beyond that week or those circumstances. I feel like someone needs to hear this next bit, so listen up because it just might be you.

During this story, Jesus and the man were walking and talking together about how to "inherit eternal life." The rest of verse 21 is Jesus telling the man what he lacks to inherit eternal life and how he can fix it. Jesus is calling the man out on his sin: idolatry. Did you catch it? Jesus saw the man. I don't think this means that Jesus looked beside him, saw the man walking and thought "Yep. He's walking right there. I see him." I fully believe that it's saying Jesus saw through the man. He saw him.

The man's love of money before Him.
His sins.
His shame.
His secrets.
His plans.
His failures.

Jesus saw it all. When He saw it, He didn't think "Ew. Peasant. Get away." He genuinely loved him. I imagine that it was a heartbroken love. I bet He felt a lot like I did when I had to watch the two people that I care about. It hurts to watch somebody you love do things that you know aren't good. (Especially as an INFJ. I mean when you can foresee the consequences, your empathy gets to going, then you get this "savior" complex, and pretty soon you think you're Gavin Degraw.) The good news is that Jesus doesn't foresee consequences. He knows the future. He doesn't have a "savior complex." He is THE savior. And he's a better "soldier" than ol' Gavin. Guess what. Jesus sees you too.

What you put before Him.
Your sins.
Your shame.
Your secrets.
Your plans.
Your failures.
Your struggles.
Your hurt.
Your brokenness.
Your gifts.
Your walls.
Your insecurities.
Your relationships.
Your dreams.
You.

And you know what? He genuinely loves you too. Jesus already sees what's holding you back from Him or keeping you from growing in your relationship with Him. He sees it, and His response is love. Do yourself a favor and let that love flood your soul right now.