But to Offer One Thing

“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.” Mark 10:21

The story of the “Rich Young Ruler” is one of a handful of Jesus’s conversations that all three synoptic gospel writers tell, but I’ve preferred Mark’s record above the others because of the affection he weaves into his version. Mark couches this interaction in the context of multiple lessons Jesus gives to his disciples, and His teachings are abruptly interrupted by this rich young man: “As he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked, “Good Teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (v.17) Mark’s context here creates a different feel than the others. I always imagined the Rich Young Ruler as a relatively confident person who didn’t feel as though Jesus had much to offer. Yet, Mark’s account reflects what seems like desperation.

We’re familiar with the initial part of the conversation; Jesus reminds the man that he must keep God’s laws, and the man replies that he has done so. Once again, Mark’s account pushes against my assumptions. What kind of arrogant person would tell a Rabbi that he has kept all of God’s laws! It’s easy to make these sorts of conclusions about him. However, the manner of his approach to Jesus shatters what seems to be a confident persona. If he was so sure of his standing, why does he run up to Jesus and kneel? This suggests that he doubts all he has done. Has it been enough? Certainly, he seems concerned.

Of course, his fears must not be significant enough that Jesus’s words are able to rattle him away from the things he most treasures. For, when Jesus tells him to sell his possession and give the money to the poor, the man can’t do it and goes away disheartened. As God over all things visible and invisible, Jesus knew this about the man; yet it doesn’t diminish His love for him (v. 21). In fact, Jesus’s very direct following statement comes straight from that love.

Among the other accounts of this interaction, Mark is the only one who provides a clearer glimpse into Jesus’s inner life: “And Jesus looking at him, loved him …” The word that Mark uses for love is the same word John uses for Jesus’s love for his dearest friends (Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Jn. 11:5 and his affectionate love for the Apostle John in Jn. 13:23). When I read this, my heart is bent toward this young man. And we know that Jesus’s certainly was. This man clearly wants to know what he should do; he feels in his heart that everything he’s doing isn’t enough. Yet, he can’t let go of his possessions. This inclines Jesus’s heart toward the man, and it should do the same to us (and to our interactions with others like him).

As I’ve reflected on what this passage provides for those in the teaching world, I return to the emphasis Jesus gives to the man: “You lack this one thing…” Everything that Jesus said to the man prior to this was good, true, and beautiful. He challenged the man to rethink his understanding of goodness. (v. 18) He called him to keep God’s word. (v.19) But, after hearing the man’s response, he looked directly at him in love and focussed on one thing … the essential thing that this man needed to hear. Jesus knew that this particular man needed to part with his earthly treasures so he wouldn’t be prevented from adhering to the second and more important part of Jesus’s admonition, “… go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven; and come, follow me.” Yes, Jesus told the man to do something He knew would be hard for Him, but the more important statement was “follow me.”

Educators’ days are full of teaching “good things.” Good academic content. Good life skills. Good character lessons. All good things. And, we want to see our students succeed in those good things. We have Portraits of a Graduate full of good things we want to see in the lives of our students. But, do our students leave our students knowing that we’ve focussed on the “one thing?” I ask that question, because I don’t know how my own students would answer that question. I imagine that they’d say that I challenged them, and I hope they’d say that I wanted them to think for themselves, be willing to work hard, and live lives of passion. But, did they know what my “one thing” is? Was I unapologetically committed to wanting to see them follow Jesus? I mean really follow Him – cast everything else aside and follow Him with their lives, not just their words. Is that what I really most wanted for them? Did they hear that routinely from me? Did they see that even modeled in my own life?

Sometimes, it’s the good things that cause us to take our eyes of what is most important. Just because Jesus told the rich young man to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor doesn’t mean that He wasn’t serious that the man should keep God’s commandments. Jesus really wanted the man to do these things, and it would have been absolutely wonderful and life-giving for the man if he truly kept them. But, far more important than all of that is Following Jesus, and like the “faithful” Jews of Jesus’s day, it’s very easy to get caught up in filling our days doing good things and forget the ultimate thing.

Only a couple of chapters before this one, Jesus asks the rhetorical question, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” (8:36). Friends, we need to hear this every day and preach it to ourselves so we can preach it to our students. What does it profit our students to gain all of the tools to have “success” in college and beyond if they don’t see how deeply they need Jesus? May it never be that our students leave our schools thinking that they’ve arrived because of the good things they’ve learned, and become so protective of their own kingdoms that they’re unwilling to cast it all away to run full speed toward Jesus’s Kingdom. This doesn’t mean we stop talking about good things. Let’s just never give students any reason to think that these good things are better than the “one thing” that Jesus tells the man in love … “Follow Me.”