Dear Friends
The poor old lady, the rich young man and Jesus –

We are all familiar with the stories of the lady who had an ‘issue of blood’ that left her penniless, hopeless and friendless and the rich young ruler which surely made him popular and influential. They could not have been more opposite socially – she was unacceptable while he was very acceptable. On the surface they were opposite spiritually too. She was fearful and clearly ignorant of how to approach God – her religion was mixed with superstition. He was confident and knowledgeable about God and His expectations, from boyhood [Luke 18:21]. What they do have in common is that they both came to Jesus.

But they were both wrong. She mixed superstition with her faith in believing that the act of touching His garment would cause her healing; he mixed works with his faith believing that his life commended him to God.

The beauty of their stories is that though they were from opposite ends of the social spectrum and though they were both theologically wrong – Jesus loved them both. His heart spans the gap. He tells the lady that it is her faith, not her superstition that made her whole; He confronts the ruler with the inadequacy of his motives.

Result: she responds, he turns away. One response is joyful the other sad. But to both Jesus has extended His love – to the woman he gives her a sense of belonging by calling her daughter and even while he walks away He loved that young ruler.

She came – He loved; he left, He loved. She accepted Him – He loved; he rejected Him – He loved. How easy it is to care about people and respond to people on the basis of how they relate to us. We look after our favourites; we smile at those who smile at us; you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours; you are okay with me because we are in the same class or theology or status.

Not so Jesus – Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief – He loved each one.
Llewellyn Edwards