Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow Me. Mark 10:21
If you and I could peer today into hell’s dark caverns, we could see the rich young ruler who Jesus was speaking to in today’s text, and find him cursing his own ‘great possessions’. But we might also find among his wails of lament a cry that he failed to appreciate how much Jesus loved him. This young man’s encounter with the Lord Jesus showed his apparent sincerity in seeking eternal life. But earth’s present mammon held a stronger hold than the future’s bliss. And yet, he did not go sorrowfully away to eternal loss without being loved by One Who longed to be his Saviour. Just like He loved us while we yet rejected Him.
As we gather today to unitedly express our worship and thanksgiving to our loving Lord, one thought that often enters our minds is the truth of 1John 4:19: ‘We love Him, because He first loved us’. We recall the days of not caring about that great love of His, days of neglect of our souls to satisfy our bellies, days of carelessness about life’s greatest issue. But now, thanksgiving floods our souls for that great love, and for the Holy Spirit’s pleading that brought us to appreciate that love.
I love the words of that dear old Sunday school song: I am so glad that our Father in heaven tells of His love in the Book He has given; Wonderful things in the Bible I see, This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/IB4ZWhW6gLo