Sermon Snippet – One Love
INTRODUCTION – We have been considering “the simplicity [singleness of purpose] that is in Christ” (II Corinthians 11:3). Mark 10:17-25 tells a familiar story. Perhaps all of us have heard of this rich young ruler. Because Jesus “loved him,” He isolated the “one thing” that was the primary problem in this man’s life (verse 21).
1. LOVE SPEAKS THE TRUTH
This man would have been classified as an asset by any organization or group and would have been in high demand. Jesus, though, understood that wealth was blinding this young man to his eternal spiritual need. Ephesians 4:15a commands us to be “speaking the truth in love.” The context is correcting false doctrine (verses 13-16), just as Jesus was doing. Certainly any church is responsible before our Savior God to present sound teaching to combat the falsities and heresies that abound in our culture. The principle of speaking loving truth holds on the personal level, especially with those closest to us. We do not need to be snippy – or worse.
2. LOVE HURTS
Jesus was rejected by the rich young ruler. No one wants to be spurned. We have a sense of the heartache that our Lord was experiencing as this man willfully walked away. When we stray, we are hurting Jesus, as well (think of Peter at Jesus’ trial, for example – see Luke 22:61-62). “He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not” (Isaiah 53:3). Of course, our Savior’s greatest heart sorrow was that of the Cross, where He experienced the full punishment for our sins. His left-lonesome heart cry echoes down through the centuries: “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46b); no stronger sob of separation is possible.
3. LOVE ABIDES
Jesus’ love for this man did not fade. His offer of salvation remained, and He would bear the rich ruler’s sins on the Cross to make that offer freely available. If this wealthy man later decided to trust in Jesus, he would have found that the fullness of the Lord’s love continued unchanged. Sadly, most sadly, there is no Scriptural evidence that he ever made the right choice. Money is a soul-crushing tyrant in the lives of many.
CONCLUSION – The Apostle Paul, unfairly considered gruff by some, wrote the soaring and searching love chapter of I Corinthians 13. It closes with a precise conclusion: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (verse 13). Charity – active love – is an abiding characteristic of our Savior, demonstrated at the Cross. This unfailing love becomes personal when we decide to place our faith solely in Jesus. We then have an everlasting relationship with Him, an unbreakable relationship based on His faithful love. As our love for Him grows, our love for those closest to us can also grow – and it should.