What do you want? - Questions from Jesus - Steven Gibbs | Stonecreek Church

 Are you settling for crumbs when a feast is within your reach? This past weekend, we heard from Pastor Steven as he unpacked what Jesus meant when He asked Bartimaeus what he wanted Jesus to do for him. So often we discount all that Jesus wants to give us because we don’t have a category for the miraculous in our lives. And when we hope for the miraculous, we might find that our sight has been recovered and that it was Jesus we wanted all along.

And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

Mark 10:46-52

What if Bartimaeus only asked Jesus for a snack, when sight was available?

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

C.S. Lewis

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:6

Am I settling for crumbs off the floor, when God wants to give me a seat at the table?

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to their graves with their song still in them.

Thoreau

What have I stopped hoping for?

What truth do I need to face?

What do I want more than God?

Is my way the way of Jesus?