What Do You Want?

Luke 18:41 -   “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.”

The Jericho native had no way to provide for himself except to beg. He had no hope for a change in his circumstances or situation until Jesus came to town. He heard the growing crowd and asked them what was happening. They told him, “Jesus is passing by.” He must have heard something of Jesus’ reputation. Perhaps some of his teaching had been relayed to him. We do know he believed Jesus was the special descendant of King David promised a thousand years before. We also know this blind man had faith, persistence, the audacity to ask Jesus to have his life changed, and the willingness to accept the responsibility that came with it.

When he heard Jesus was coming, he started to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” He was willing to ask Jesus to help him because he believed he could. When the crowd tried to shut him up, he only cried louder. Because he did, Jesus stopped in the midst of thousands who would have loved his personal attention. The man who kept asking got it. Then Jesus asked him that question, “What do you want?” Because he asked, because he kept asking, because he believed Jesus would help him, he got what he wanted.

The thing we often miss in a story like this is that this man’s life change not only brought physical healing and even spiritual healing (as Jesus told him, “Your faith has saved you”). It also forced new responsibility on him. He could no longer be a beggar. He could no longer blame his circumstances on things out of his control. His deliverance meant it was up to him to live out the changed life Jesus’ touch had brought him. Unfortunately, too many people are not willing to ask for Jesus’ help and deliverance because their excuses will be gone. Let’s be sure to ask persistently and responsibly live the changed lives Jesus enables us to live.