Mark 10:17. As he went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?”
18. Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God.
19. You know the commandments: Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, honor your father and mother.”
20. He said, “Teacher, I have – from my youth – kept them all!”
21. Jesus looked him hard in the eye – and loved him! He said, “There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.”
22. The man’s face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.“The Message”
In verse 21 this passage says, Jesus looked him hard in the eye and loved him! Have you ever loved someone enough to tell him the truth even though it meant you may never see them again as they would walk off? Have you ever loved enough that you had to stand for your faith against the crowd and not compromise your belief?
In our faith we believe gathering together at church on Sunday is an important part of our week. However, I know people who confess this with their mouth but who don’t always follow this. The reason is that guests arrive at their home Sunday morning on a regular basis. I wonder if we could love them enough to bring them to church with us? I wonder if we could love them enough to set the example and excuse ourselves to attend service? What do they think of this compromise?
That is simply one example. There are thousands. What is our faith and how is it lived out? Do we love enough? Do people believe that we are one of those who has sold out and taken up a cross?
There are times in our lives where we are called to stand up for our faith and love Jesus enough to love people enough to live out our faith. What will be our response?
Pastor Susan 
