What do you want Jesus to do for you?

Luke 18:35-43

Jesus was coming near the city of Jericho. There was a blind man sitting beside the road, begging for money. When he heard the people coming down the road, he asked, “What is happening?” They told him, “Jesus, the one from Nazareth, is coming here.” The blind man cried out, “Jesus, Son of David! Please help me!” The people who were in front, leading the group, told the blind man to be quiet. But the blind man shouted more and more, “Son of David, please help me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Bring the blind man to me!” When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, I want to see again.” Jesus said to him, “Then see! You are healed because you believed.” At once the man was able to see, and he followed Jesus, thanking God. All the people who saw this praised God.

Food for thought!

Let us re imagine the scene. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to the Passover. He is not alone; he has a big crowd around him, listening to every word he says. Any noise from anybody is an unwanted distraction. A nuisance.
Sitting on the roadside is a blind beggar. This man is many things: he is blind; he is a beggar; he is sitting along the side of the road. Because he is a blind, he is a beggar, and because he is begging he is sitting on the side of the road; he is not part of anything; he is on the roadside of life and living. He is only good in one thing, curiosity. When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by.
Immediately he cried out to Jesus for help and healing. Thereupon everyone tried to silence him. The people round Jesus were missing what he was saying because of the clamour of this blind man. "Quite!" They told the man. "You're distracting us; please shut up!" They seemed to say.
This was a crucial moment. What will the man do? Shut up or shout up? Have you ever been like this man? You desire something very important in your life, or you have a dream, or a vision, or a deal or a business idea. As you try to turn it into a reality, you begin to hear counter voices all around you suggesting that you forget and abandon the idea. Maybe you wanted to go back to school for a degree, or you wanted to stop smoking, or wanted to start a business, or change jobs, or...!
The man would not be silenced. Neither should you. He shouted again, this time louder; he screamed so much that everybody took notice, including Jesus. The man was determined to come face to face with Jesus. Nothing would stop him. He refused to be silent and he refused to be restrained. His sense of need drove him relentlessly into the presence of Jesus. If anyone wants a miracle that is the spirit one must show. A gentle, sentimental longing never really taps the power of God; but the passionate, intense desire of the very depths of the human heart will never be disappointed.
“What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”
We live in a society of almost infinite choices and opportunities, and because of that, most people find themselves pulled in dozens of directions. Jesus' question helped this man to prioritize his needs; to focus and not scatter himself with endless requests: "I want to see!" He said. I wonder what you would say! What is your ONE thing in life that you need, not what you want; what you need? It must be one thing because wanting everything is wanting nothing. We do well to narrow our focus; our mind doesn't realize our dreams until it has a clear object.
Luke 10:41

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — indeed only one.