Introduction
‘What do you want me to do for you?’ What might you answer? How is our confidence to ask those big, audacious things of God?
Mark 10.46–52
They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
Questions:
- What are you so desperate for God to do in your life that you call out, not caring what others think?
- Or have we become so concerned about what others think it limits our courage to call out to God?
- ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ what might be your answer if Jesus were to ask you?
Things to think about with the child at the centre:
The name Bar-timaeus means Son of Timaeus, which means that his only identity is as someone’s child – and his disability. How often do we think about the children in our churches as people in their own right, or do we think of them as “so and so’s son or daughter”?
What would we learn if we asked the children among us – What could this church do for you? Instead of making assumptions?
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