"What Do YOU want?"

In our reading this morning, I was stuck by the fact that Jesus asked the same question on two different occasions in Mark 10.

“What do you want me to do for you?”

He first asked it of James and John who wanted Him to give them the honored positions of sitting beside Him when He set up His kingdom. They felt that they were important enough to be there, By the way, Jesus said that is not a request that I can grant. That responsibility belongs to someone else. And the other disciples were upset because they all felt they deserved to be in those positions.

The next time he asked it of Bartimaeus who was blind. Bartimaeus quickly responded that he wanted to see and that he believed Jesus could do that. And, Jesus did. He healed his eyes so that he could see.

Why did Jesus grant one request and not the other? Maybe the issue has to do with what we really want. So, maybe Jesus is asking me: What do you want me to do for you? That is a question the I will be thinking about today as I help to lead a funeral service, as I prepare for Sunday and even as I think about our celebrating our country’s independence tomorrow. I think I want Jesus to help us remember a dear saint who loved Him and loved His church. I also want Jesus to be the center of our worship on Sunday and I want to thank God for our freedom and I want to Honor Him with my life today and not focus on me-which i can easily do.

I think Jesus is asking you: “What do you want me to do for you?” What is your response? I would love to hear from you. Have a blessed and safe 4th of July weekend.