“Then Jesus beholding him loved him.” – Mark 10:21
One of my grandsons is going through a stage where girls and kissing is an especially abhorrent idea. Though he clearly adores his mother, he even wipes off her kisses from his head or face.
Recently he did so, and his mom pretended to pout and asked him, “Don’t you love me?” He swiftly answered her, “Of course I do; you’re my mom; I have to love you.” Likewise, by his thought process, his mother has to love him, because she is his mom.
My daughter loves her son devotedly, and it most assuredly is not a case of “have to.” A mother or father will often go to great lengths to protect and set up a future for their children. They expend time, money, energy, and emotions throughout their lifetime because of the great love they have for each of their children.
Jesus loved the man referred to in our focus verse. This was the rich young ruler who asked Jesus what more he needed to do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus told him what to do, Scripture tells us that he walked away sad because he did not want to do what Jesus had said. Jesus was trying to help him, but unfortunately His love was not well received. It was almost as though the young man was wiping off kisses from the One who loved him more than any other.
God loves us more than we can comprehend, and not just because He has to. We are His creation, His own handiwork. He loved us before we even knew Him. Because of that, He has gone to great lengths to protect us as we walk through this life, and He is preparing a place in Heaven for us. God’s great love for you and for me caused Him to send His only Son to die on the Cross of Calvary so we might be saved.
Everything He does for us is done out of love. Do we love God back? Or, by our actions are we wiping off His kisses? It is understandable that boys will reach an age when they do not appreciate all forms of affection from their mothers. However, we need to understand that anything God gives us is needful and important, and we ought to receive it with thankful hearts.