There is always love in Daddy's hands - Mark 10:13-31

Mark 10:13-31 There is always love in Daddy’s hands.
INTRO
I believe it was my freshman year in high school (being about my son Matthew’s
age) when I received the phone call at school. I remember being dismissed
from my class, going to the school oﬃce where the phone was located and then
hearing my mother share with me on the other end of the line that my aunt
Mickey had just passed away. At that time the closest relative I had ever
experienced loosing. She had lost the battle to cancer and passed away that
morning leaving her husband and two daughters behind. The next distinct
memory from that loss was at her funeral where I witnessed my uncle who
always held a stout hardness about him in my young eyes,…I saw him weep like
a child when they played my Aunt Mickey’s favorite song. “Daddy’s hands” by
Holly Dunn. The song was vaguely familiar to me at the time but from that
moment it became one of significance both in the memory it draws me back to
when I hear it and the beauty of what is conveyed in the lyrics.
The melody of that song began playing in my mind while preparing today’s
sermon from (Mark 10:13-31). Along with the main chorus where Holly sings
Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin'
Daddy's hands were hard as steel when I'd done wrong
Daddy's hands weren't always gentle but I've come to understand
There was always love in daddy's hands
There was always love in Daddy’s hands. The same is true with our Father in
heaven. “There is always love in our daddy’s hands.” And this is presented to
us plainly in the passage this morning by JESUS who answered Philip after
being asked by him (John 14:8-10) “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough
for us.” Jesus said to Philip, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not
know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…..” JESUS,
(Hebrews 1:3) “…the exact imprint of the Father’s nature…” shows us plainly
that there is always love in daddy’s hands.
BODY
We see this first in how we are to come to God…and that is like a child.
1)

FIRST POINT - (Mark 10:13-16). Coming to God like a child

So apparently Jesus’s recent teaching back in (verses 36-37) of chapter 9 of
this gospel account didn’t quite sink in to the disciples. Why do I say that?

Look at (verse 13) - read
I wonder how Jesus responded to this?….OH, that’s right, Mark tells us in the
first part of (verse 14) - read
Let’s just say he wasn’t happy about it…in fact, he was down right upset…
“much displeased” as the King James translation would state it. The disciples
are just not getting it. At this, Jesus draws another lesson from the very child
the disciples were trying to prevent coming to him. On the contrary, JESUS
says……returning to (verse 14) - read from “Let….through (verse 16)
Mom’s…Dad’s…Isn’t one of the greatest joy’s as a parent the ability to take
your children into your arms and bless them? With my two it is now only a
memory. Attempting to do so today would result in an assured back spasm or
worse. BUT when they were young children. OH how I loved doing that.
Without question one of my fondest memories as a dad during that season of
life is having both of them in my arms and dancing throughout the great room in
our home in Bend.
Several evenings each week I would crank the music and dance with them as
long as my strength allowed. Man I loved that. And they did too. And there is
so much we can learn from that in how we are to come to our daddy, to our
Father in heaven. To come to him like a child.
Children come to dad and mom Uninhibited…sometimes running into you (not
looking for them.. you’re in conversation perhaps and then boom, they plunge
themselves onto you and are attached.) Uninhibited.
Children are Free to be who they are around dad and mom.…..only young
children are free to get out of the bath and run through the house buck naked
and joyful and for that to be okay. Anyone else - not appropriate.
And their Free…not afraid to be broken before you, when they are hurting the
child makes it known immediately.
Children come to mom and dads helpless….Far from self suﬃcient……often
times coming to mom or dad with arms raised up asking to be picked up and
held. Left to themselves they are doomed to not survive and they know
it….likely not a conscious thought but a plain truth confirmed by their actions.
And lastly, though more observations could be made, Lastly…. I think the
strongest observation of a child one can take to heart in having childlike faith is
the child’s CLINGINESS to the parent.
Children feel secure in daddy’s hands which is expressed most pointedly in
their clinginess to their parent.

One of the games I played with my children when they were that age was
pretending to be a tree…positioning my body as such to which they would
climb. Once attached, I would walk through the house, up the stairs and so
forth while all along having them clinging to me.
With that same sort of clinginess I still recall how they would hide their faces
in mine or their mother’s neck when in public places. The JOY of that memory
probed often when I see the same done amongst the families here at Pillar with
young children along with the leg shelter a young one could find refuge in so
long as they don’t mistake a set of legs for mom or dad’s that isn’t theirs. I
think every child/parent has had that moment. “Whose clinging to me?….You
look down as the child looks up. Eye contact is made and the child repels oﬀ
of you like water to gore tex.” You’re not my daddy.
In the Heavenly Father’s eyes this is seen as how we are to receive HIM. That
same FREE, Uninhibited, HELPLESS in our own strength, Clinging to HIM and
nothing else Childlike Faith. “….for such belongs the kingdom of God.” This
depicts the type of relationship we are to have with our Father in Heaven
through FAITH in Christ. Having no greater place in all the world to be than in
our Fathers arms with the blessing of His hands upon us. Because we know
without a shadow of a doubt…. “There is always love in daddy’s hands”
With this same LOVE…how do his hands care for us when we come to him
self suﬃcient. How does He, always in love,….handle us here? Which takes us
to our second point.
2)

SECOND POINT (Mark 10:17-22)- Coming to God self suﬃcient

In (verses 17-22) we are introduced to a wealthy man who comes to Jesus with
sincerity and reverence. For note with me in (verse 17). Here we have JESUS,
with His eyes set on the cross now, on course toward Jerusalem to be falsely
tried and crucified…setting out on his journey there…as stated in the opening
of this (verse 17)…is met…by this man who “ran up and knelt before him and
asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
NOW that reveals a lot. This man is eager to get to JESUS, shows him
reverence and respect as one who is great. These are good Marks. So many
today are just…indiﬀerent to CHRIST and the GOSPEL. There is no seeking in
them whatsoever. Aﬃrming the Truth of God’s word in (Psalm 119:155)
“Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.”

Profoundly TRUE. How elated I am when I meet one who is TRULY seeking
God. My heart sings for JOY as I share Christ with them and direct them to
His word whereby He may be found and by which one may seek His presence
continually. OH, but how scarce such a one is in our culture today. I personally
give this man props for eagerly coming to JESUS, showing him reverence and
seeking how he may inherit eternal life. I pray to see more of that of ones I
know or meet day in and day out over the course of my LIFE.
So this man is in a good place here before JESUS. And similar to how Jesus
took the children who came to him up in his arms, placed His hands on them
and blessed them…in like manner, with the same love, he handles this man
who has come to him.. And now let’s watch closely how our LORD does so.
FIRST He challenges his position, his hold of who Jesus is. (Verse 18) “Why do
you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” In other words… Do you
come to me as being your God? Because That is of upmost importance is it
not? If JESUS is only a man, just a teacher, a revolutionist, a prophet a subject
matter of that nature,… BUT not Immanuel, not God with us, not Christ the
Incarnate Son of God….then our holding of JESUS is all wrong and that first
must be addressed. JESUS IS GOD. JESUS IS ETERNAL. He always was.
(John 1:1-18) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made
through him, and without him was not anything made that was made…….In Him
was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the
Father, full of grace and truth.” JESUS!
This is who he is and it is the first handling our Lord does with this man
whose eagerly come to him. And so it is with us. If we don’t come to JESUS
as our Lord God in the flesh then we are not coming to JESUS at all. At least
not the JESUS revealed to us in the BIBLE. NOT the JESUS who laid down his
life as a ransom for many. NOT the JESUS whose eternal, spotless blood alone
is suﬃcient to atone for all our sin.. PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. NOT the
JESUS who rose from the grave after three days of lying dead in a tomb. NOT
the JESUS who was seen by over 500 disciples at one time during his 40 days
here on earth after his resurrection. NOT the JESUS who the disciples saw
getting caught up into the clouds as He ascended to heaven. And NOT the
JESUS who (Hebrews 10:12-13) “…sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God, waiting until that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his
feet.” The JESUS who did all this…who the BIBLE teaches us about…is God,
and we are to come to him as such.

THIS is the JESUS of the Holy Bible.
With that challenged placed before the man kneeling at the feet of JESUS, He
(Jesus) then engages him more intimately. I could see even in this moment
placing his hand upon him as a gesture expressing Jesus’s familiarity with the
man. (Verse 19) “You know the commandments:….” Isn’t that sweet and
tender? “You know the commandments son…”. ?? Any parent here say
something similar to there child when lovingly handling a situation with them?
“CHILD, you know what’s expected of you. You know what I’m about to say
right now.” Do you see how this denotes a knowing of the man.
Jesus knows us SAINTS. Nothing is hidden from him but rather (Hebrews
4:13) “…all is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give
account.” JESUS knows this man as he knows you and I and he engages him
in this manner, recites a number of the ‘do not commandments’ to which the
man replies (verse 20) “…Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And
now watch this.. (verse 21) “And Jesus looking at him, loved him…”. There is
always love in daddy’s hands
And this moment JESUS is having with this man is no diﬀerent. Did you
notice that in the listing of commandments that JESUS recited he did not
include the first commandment. (Exodus 20:3) “You shall have no other gods
before me.” Nor the expression of it in (Deuteronomy 6:5) “You shall love the
Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
He could have summarized it as Joshua did to the Israelites (Joshua 22:5) “Only
be very careful to observe the commandment and law that Moses the servant of
the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways
and to keep his commandments and to (check this out) and to cling to him and
to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” He could of answered
this way…but He didn’t. And I’m persuaded that He did so because this was
the issue. Even though this man, as sincere and upright as he likely was….he
was certainly not flawless of what he claimed to have kept from his youth…no
one is.
BUT this was not the issue. This man had an aﬀections of the heart problem…
and JESUS knowing it goes right to handling that. “Looking at him, Jesus loved
him and said to him, you lack one thing; go, sell all that you have and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” And this
man, sadly, in response to Jesus’s answer to the original question “What
must I do to inherit eternal life.” (verse 22). This man…“Disheartened by the

saying (by Jesus’s answer), he went away sorrowful, for he had great
possessions.”
“Truly, I say to you (says Jesus), whoever does not receive the kingdom of God
like a child shall not enter it.” GOD calls for us to have a child like faith and He
puts His hands on… bring our attention to….that which we are clinging to in
our heart that competes with Him. For us to have childlike faith He may call
anything to attention that has your heart’s aﬀections other than Him. For this
man here, JESUS takes a hold of him if you will and says in eﬀect IT’S your
possessions. He was a wealthy man…very self suﬃcient and comes to JESUS,
knowing that he is still lacking something that is required…..and holding an
outlook that he is able to do that which is required to inherit eternal life. And
JESUS lovingly deals with him and provides a clear answer. The aﬀections of
your heart are wrapped up in your wealth….in your possessions. So long as
they exist, your heart will have no place for me to rule and reign in your heart as
KING…and this is what is required to inherit eternal life.
They—-must—-go. I require all of your heart to cling tightly to me like a child
tightly clings to a parent….not portions of it or loosely held. NO…I CALL
FORTH to have ALL of it. ……And so it is with us. Our self suﬃciency may not
be possessions…it could be pride of status, health, relationships, dwelling
place, abilities, intellect….there is no limit to what competes for our hearts
aﬀections and the loving hands of our Father takes a hold of it, brings it to our
attention and makes clear…this must go. You see, it’s because God handles
that which He looks upon in one who is seeking Him.
- The Heart….And..
God knows the idols of our heart even if we don’t since we are very often blind
to them. He knows them and He exposes them. When He lovingly is handling
the heart of one who is seeking Him He will give pointed attention to it. “Son,
this needs to go.” “I belong here. You seek to inherit eternal life…seek me with
your whole heart for in finding me as your treasure you will have treasure in
heaven. “For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” (Matthew
6:21; Luke 12:34) If this is what you seek….this idol must go.”
I’ll say it this way. - “Christianity is falling in love with Jesus”
And when our loving daddy takes in His hands the heart of one who is seeking
to fall in love with him He’ll lovingly touch that which hinders it from happening..
that it would be removed. LET’S draw an example from the Old Testament.

King David is known as “the man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).
Traditional understanding of that meaning that David’s heart was that like
God’s… A shepherd’s heart who will do all of God’s will in Shepherding God’s
people. But time in preparation of this sermon has cast new light on that verse
for me. NOT dismissing the traditional understanding of it…BUT rather
expanding IT…at least in my heart.
David’s heart was after - God’s heart. Do you see what I’m saying?
I’ll illustrate it this way. In times past hunting with my dad and brothers there
would be these moments either as we a stealthily moving through the forest, or
gathered over the map planning our next course and it has even happened while
setting up for a lunch break. In any one of those moments we have been…
interrupted…interrupted by a majestic elk bugle halting our attention. In the
very heart beat of that moment we share the same thought…
‘Let’s go…..what?….after it.” Let’s go after that Bull elk. With heart’s united we
SET OUT after that Bull with hopes to….encounter it.
So it is in seeking God. It’s a seeking from the heart. NOT an intellectual
knowledge of God or about Jesus where one is able to excel at Bible Trivia.
Such knowledge will be present BUT if that is all it is…..then it’s not seeking
GOD. It’s your heart He is after and therefore it’s your heart that must be
‘after’ GOD’S heart. To know Him in that manner…To fall in love with Him that
you too will have a heart after God’s own heart like David did. YOU SEE, that
is the eﬀect.
When your heart is after GOD’S heart undoubtedly GOD’S heart will be formed
in yours. The Bible says it this way. (Psalm 37:4) “Delight yourself in the Lord,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Delight. Reading through
scripture…studying God’s word is done with the heartfelt pursuit to fall in love
with Him. The BIBLE is God’s revelation of Himself to us; HIS very love letter
written by which we will fall in love with Him.
You want to fall in love with God, Fall in love with His Word (Psalm 1:1-2)
“Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he
meditates day and night.” You want to fall in love with God, In love with
Jesus… Fall in love with His Word……..“And tell Him about it.”
- Prayer…..the 2 work together.

To such is having childlike faith and to such belong the kingdom of God.
This brings us to our 3rd and concluding point this morning involving JESUS’S
handling of the disciples who are witnessing all that’s been taking place.
Seen in (verses 23-31)
3) CONCLUDING POINT (Mark 10:23-31)- Great cost yielding Great Reward
SO, I confess. This portion of the passage is puzzling to me. Not in what
JESUS acknowledges about the diﬃculty for those with great wealth to enter
the kingdom as stated in (verses 23 and 24) with an added hyperbole in (verse
25) saying “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle then for a
rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.” emphasizing his point being
acknowledged to his disciples. I get that.. That makes sense.
ONE with great earthly wealth is Self Suﬃcient to the MAX. ‘Need or Lack’ is
something they are NOT acquainted with at all…at least in the physical realm.
I’m down/sad…I’ll $purchase a pick-me-up.…go on a vacation….easy peasy.
Money can do a lot. The author of Money, Possessions and Eternity states it
WELL when he says that a righteous rich man is such a rare phenomenon.
That’s why a favorite verse of mine is (Proverbs 30:8-9) “Remove far from me
falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food
that is needful for me lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’…or
lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”…….(verse 23) “How
diﬃcult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God.”
JESUS acknowledges it…And I totally get it and see it….what puzzles me
though,…is the disciple’s response to it. (verse 24) “And the disciples were
amazed at his words…” (verse 26) “….and they were exceedingly astonished
and said to him (said to Jesus) ‘Then who can be saved?’ I’m puzzled as to
why they responded this way.
Disciples amazed, exceedingly astonished….And I’m led to hold the view that
it was because of this man whom they watched come to JESUS with
enthusiasm and then leave JESUS disheartened and sorrowful.
I think he was the full package; I think he was legit as to what a…christian…a
disciple of Jesus ought to look like - LISTEN - in their EYES…the disciple’s
eyes who look upon the surface as we so often do ourselves. This Joe has it
all together….from his youth; he honored his father and mother, did not commit

adultery, did not steal, did not murder, did not bear false witness ….he is
squeaky clean you could say, a model citizen of heaven. The poster child for
christian man of the year. The disciples were recently arguing about who
would be the greatest….this man would certainly be a worthy contestant to that
mark. He came running to JESUS…he’s enthusiastic, knelt before him…
showing JESUS honor and respect, addresses JESUS in reverence, is seeking
an answer from JESUS to a noble question and it results in him leaving JESUS
disheartened.
The disciples…We are stinky fishermen…what chance do we have?; what are
we to do if this golden boy would be disciple leaves JESUS sorrowful?
His heart was not in the seeking.! The rich man’s heart was not in the seeking.
And he (Jesus) wants your heart and nothing else. There is no substitute.
AT ALL COST,…that is what he is after.
Please note with me mid way through (verse 24) during the 2nd time JESUS
speaks of the diﬃculty for the Rich (self suﬃcient) man,….he addresses the
disciples as…. ‘children’ as if saying “Would-you-please-get this…..Would ‘we’
get this. We must become like a child to receive the Kingdom of God. A child’s
heart is after their dad and their dad’s heart is after their child’s.”
Handling the hearts of his disciples who are quite despondent about all this…
JESUS brings hope to their hearts by answering their desperate question
“Then who can be saved?” JESUS directs their heart away from self
suﬃciency to go towards hope in God. With the same loving eyes placed on
the rich man, (verse 27) “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is
impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” Drawing
strength from the words of Jesus the disciples at this point begin to take some
innovatory of the great costs they have made. (Verse 28) “Peter began to say
to him, ‘See, we have left everything and followed you.” Connecting with the
heart of his disciples JESUS expands on the words of Peter on behalf of the
disciples in regards to the GREAT COST in seeking to fall in love with JESUS
while completing that truth assuring them that there is also GREAT REWARD
both in this life and in the life to come of one who receives the Kingdom of
God like a child. (Verse 29-30) - read
Have we NOT all experienced this to one measure or another? I know we have.
Whether it be lands, homes, family ties that have been impacted greatly as a
result of our uncompromised love of Jesus and the gospel. WE HAVE ALL

SHARED in that. On that same notion we have all received the great reward
out of our love for Jesus and the gospel. WE are a part of an eternal family
here at PILLAR whom have demonstrated well the example seen in the early
church (Acts 2:44) “who were together and had all things in common.”…who
together endure and will endure persecutions as a family of believers….JESUS
is sure to keep the right understanding of the rewards a christian receives in
this life. There are many and they are great BUT they come with persecutions.
Persecutions will come to the church in this life….BUT in the life to come….in
the age to come…ETERNAL LIFE….and listen…this life…this eternal life is in
His son) (1 John 5:11,20)
And so if you are NOT falling in love with HIM…if JESUS is only a subject
matter to you and not God incarnate, the risen King of glory who ransomed you
with his life by dying on the cross to atone for your sin, who fulfilled all
righteousness in your place so that you by faith in Him..YOU may stand before
the throne of God justified…spotless, blameless in His sight….IF you are NOT
falling in love with HIM who lavished such grace upon you of His own free will
then you don’t have Him abiding in you nor you in Him and if you don’t have
Him abiding in you then you don’t have eternal life. You have NOT received the
Kingdom of God like a child.
For in the Kingdom of God…(verse 31)
“Many who are first will be last, and the last first.” BECAUSE in this life the less
noticed, the consistently overlooked faithful servant child of God will be the
greatest in the Kingdom of God. Another paradox in the christian faith. Up is
down and down is up if you will. The greatest among you is seen in who is the
greatest servant and does so joyfully without recognition. Because all such a
child like one is concerned about….is pleasing their Father who’s loving hands
hold them securely through all eternity.
Let’s endeavor together to live this out in greater realities.
- PRAY
Great cost; You are worth it.
Great peace knowing there is always love in daddy’s hands.
Help us fall more in love with Jesus. Bring to our attention that which needs to
go that we may go farther…deeper in love with you.
May this room be filled with seekers of God…seekers after God’s heart…
seeking to fall in love with God by falling in love with the Word of God. For in
seeking you in this manner with our whole heart we have your promise to find

you as our greatest treasure and delight. “For where our treasure is there our
heart will be also.”
COMMUNION
The heart of God who is after our heart was pierced on the cross of CALVARY.
For when the soldiers came to JESUS they did not break the legs of him as
was done to the two criminals crucified along with Jesus. The soldiers saw
that JESUS was already dead and they took a spear and pierced his side from
which water and blood poured out from his heart. (John 19:31-37). JESUS’S
heart…the heart of GOD was pierced for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5), he
was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us
peace, and with his words we are healed.” It is his sacrificial death on the cross
we remember this morning in the taking of communion. The bread
representing his body that was broken and the cup holding the fruit of the vine
representing his blood that was shed for the remission of sins are prepared
FOR THE BELIEVER this morning for your taking…in declaring his death till he
returns.
Benediction (Psalm 27)


Related Media
Related Sermons