Sight

And Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" (Mark 10:51)

Jesus comes to us with the same question. But with what do we respond. We say that we fail to see him at work in our lives. We question whether the impossible is really possible. It seems miracles are for others, but not for us.

Yet when Jesus comes to us and offers to do anything we ask, do we really ask in faith for anything? I believe that while we use the words "I want" in prayer to our Lord, we speak them in doubt. Or we ask for things that aren't central to our wholeness in Christ. Or we speak words as part of the spiritual airs we put on, and they are simply the words we think God or our Christian peers want to hear.

Bartimaeus didn't have spiritual airs. He wasn't interested in jumping through spiritual hoops or going through motions. He didn't have time for that. And he didn't have a laundry list of desires for Christ. Only one thing truly mattered. He couldn't see.

His entire existence was dark, and it was as close to death as he could get and still be breathing. And he knew there was nothing in and of himself that he could do about it. More than that, he knew that if he was given sight, it would be the gift of life itself.

Essentially, Bartimaeus wanted to know himself and the world around him as they really were, not as he had known them or believed them to be. He knew that life was connected to truth, and truth could only be known with sight.

Interestingly enough, when Bartimaeus, in full and honest recognition of his need, cries out to the Lord, those around him tried to shut him up. Did they question Jesus' ability? Were they afraid Jesus would cheat them of their miracle by giving away a bit of his power to Bartimaeus? Were they threatened by Bartimaeus blindness? Did they think he wasn't good enough to receive such a gift from Jesus?

We don't really know. In fact, they hushed Bartimaeus before his request was even spoken. I would offer that perhaps they were more intrigued by Jesus than captivated by Him. They were spectators to His life. They didn't actually want to be participants in it. Like a hungry infant crying in a movie theater, Bartimaeus was interrupting their show.

But Bartimaeus wouldn't be silent, and he asked for the one thing that truly mattered. He asked to see.

Do we know what our blindess is in our own life right now? Do we really believe Jesus will grant us sight if we will only cry out in humility and desperation?

If Bartimaeus had asked for anything else, or if he had followed the lead of the crowd, he would have lived out the rest of his days in debilitating darkness. But because he asked, he "recovered his sight and followed Jesus down the road." (The Message)