Day 13

Mark 10-12

In chapter 10, the rich young man approaches Jesus and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus lists off a few commandments, to which the rich young ruler replies: “I have kept all these from my youth.” 

Verse 21 goes on to say, “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."

This kind of love and compassion was so obvious that the expression of Jesus’s emotion was not only noted, but it was recorded by the writers of the Gospels. Jesus did not say aloud that He loved the rich young ruler, but He didn’t have to because His compassion made it clear. 

I don’t believe that we can love like this on our own. We should seek the Lord for compassion and for the ability to love others the same way that Christ loves us. We see just a couple of chapters later that Jesus actually commands us to love this way. 

In Chapter 12, one of the scribes asks which commandment was the most important. Jesus responds, “...‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31) 

If loving is commanded by God, that can only mean that love is a choice. This idea is so completely different from what our culture teaches. When we choose to love, we don’t ignore our emotions, but we place them in the hands of God. 

I believe that when we choose to love God, He will equip us to live lives pleasing to Him. Also, when we choose to love people, He will use that love to point others to Him.