‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Can you imagine the possibilities if Jesus asked you that question? How would you answer?
It’s a question Jesus actually poses twice in Mark 10 (verses 36 and 51), but he gets very different answers each time. James and John ask him to give them power and status in his Kingdom – a request that reveals they have still not understood what following Jesus is all about. Bartimaeus asks for mercy – specifically, that he might see – and is given what he asked. He begins to follow Jesus on the way.
As with James, John and Bartimaeus, the answer we would give to the question ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ reveals what is in our hearts. It reveals something of why we follow Jesus in the first place. So it’s a question worth asking ourselves to help us grasp how well we understand what following Jesus is all about. Would we fare better than James and John?
Ed