Seen And Loved

Christina Namato

Exactly one year ago, I was studying about love in the gospels, so I looked up all the times that the Greek word for God’s love, agape, was used. When I got to this verse, what stuck out to me was the fact that Jesus loved this man after looking upon him.

In the Greek, from the interlinear translation, verse 21a directly says: “And Jesus having looked upon him loved him.” In Greek, the word for “looking at” is: emblepó - to look at, to consider / I look into (upon); metaphorically: I consider; I see clearly. HELPS provides some extra context: emblépo (from en, “engaged in” and blepo, “look”) – properly, stare (look) at with a “locked-in gaze”; look at in a sustained, concentrated way, i.e., with special “interest, love or concern”.

Honestly, just reading the definition of the word for “looking at” in Greek brings tears to my eyes as I imagine the immense care, kindness, & compassion Jesus had as He gazed upon this man. I looked at the verse in a couple of other translations, and they also reflect this idea more clearly: NAS: “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said…” KJV: “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said…”

It was in gazing at him fixedly, considering him and his heart with this locked in gaze and special interest, love, or concern that Jesus chose to love him. Jesus is love, and He is therefore loving at all times, but He still chose to pause and really consider this man, to concentrate on him and in doing so felt love for him. Jesus loved/wished well to / took pleasure in / likely even longed for him and his heart to be truly right with God. This made me wonder: Am I taking the time to look at others with this gaze of Christ and love them?

Mark 10:17-22

devotional

All too often, I’m not. With my husband, I can get caught up in the day to day to-dos, and focus on tasks rather than connection. When other sisters come to me for advice or support, sometimes I can focus on finding the right scripture to help them with what they’re sharing, and while this is important, it is also important to first take the time to pause and deeply listen, to sit together and consider them and their hearts. When reaching out, am I taking the time to try and meaningfully connect with people and understand where they are coming from, or do I focus on getting the invite to an event or a Bible study out and move onto the next person?

I want to have the deep, quiet stillness that comes with taking the time to gaze upon others, to look upon Jesus, and to bask in the fact that Jesus looks at me this way too.

Truths

• Love takes the time to behold / gaze upon others to see them clearly in order to truly love them.

• In seeing others clearly and loving them, we can speak the truth to them in love and call them higher, just like Jesus did with this man.

• Just because someone walks away from us and the truth does not necessarily mean we haven’t been loving. Jesus loved this man deeply, but when he told him what he needed to hear, he went away sad. Loving isn’t about making people happy. It is about telling them the truth, in love, so they can be with Jesus eternally. reflection question

reflection questions

• Pray for God to give you Jesus’ eyes to see others.

• Ask yourself: Am I taking the time to look at others with this gaze of Christ and love them?

• Take time to look upon others. It’s a gift to them and to you.

• If you love someone, you need to tell them the truth about Christ’s standard even when it’s tough.

• Take the time to behold and be beheld by Christ.

challenge

Memory scripture: “And Jesus having looked upon him loved him.” – Mark 10:21a