And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth." And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. Mark 10:20–22 (RSV)
We become so accustomed to reading Scripture that we do not always read Scripture. We know the story of the rich man who comes to Jesus, seeking eternal life. After Jesus leads him through the Catechism, the man is confident that he has passed the test.
Our minds leap to the moment when the man turns away in sorrow, for he cannot sell his possessions to follow Jesus. Yes, we know this well, except we don't. Nestled in the middle of this passage is the phrase, "And Jesus looking upon him loved him,"
We are so caught up in the man and his wealth, thinking it would forever be a barrier to following Jesus, that we do not consider the beating heart of this passage. Jesus loved him.
True, the man departed that day in sorrow as he could not yet let go of his wealth. Still, the love of Jesus had come upon him. Jesus' love would carry him to the cross and resurrection for this man. Jesus' love would not cease to live in the man's heart.
The man may not have that day sold all he had to follow Jesus. It could have been that as the days passed, the love of Christ overtook the man's love of his wealth. Though I cannot confirm it to be so, it may well have been that the love of Jesus, in time, transformed the man. It may have been that one day, he came to love Jesus in return. Then forgetting his wealth, he gave it to the poor and followed Jesus.