Receiving God's Wholeness - Part 4

DAILY BYTE

“What do you want me to do for you?’ This is the question that Jesus asked the blind man who sat by the roadside begging just outside of Jericho. Jesus’ question invites the beggar to consider what it is that he really wants. He responds by saying that he wants to see, which seems like the obvious answer for a blind man to give.

But his answer was far from obvious. Remember, as a beggar this man had been forced to make a habit of trying to get whatever he could out of the people who passed him by. He had no doubt learned not to expect too much, not to ask for too much - he was after all just a blind beggar, and as the saying goes ‘beggars can’t be choosers.’ His entire life depended on him being content with the scraps that were thrown his way.

So when Jesus asked, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ his reply is remarkably bold and astonishingly honest. He tells Jesus what he really wants. ‘Lord, I want to see.’ The next words he hears from Jesus are these, ‘Receive your sight, your faith has healed you’ and immediately his sight was restored.

This story has much to teach us as we reflect this week on what it means to receive God’s wholeness. For one thing it reveals the importance and the power of asking.

On another occasion Jesus said quite plainly, “Everyone who asks receives.” (Lk 11:10). We struggle to believe that these words are true, that the simple act of asking holds such power. How does this work? Dallas Willard writes:

“Asking is indeed the great law of the spiritual world through which things are accomplished in co-operation with God and yet in harmony with the freedom and worth of every individual.”

Let’s unpack this for a moment.

1. In order to ask for something we need to know what it is that we want.
2. There is something profoundly vulnerable about a direct request, because in the very act of asking someone for something we open ourselves to their response, which could be either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. A request operates in the realm of the freedom of the one being asked, and respects that freedom. Which is why it is totally different from manipulating people to get what you want, or demanding things from them?
3. Asking thrusts us into the realm of relationship and partnership. A request, by its very nature, unites. A demand, by contrast, separates. And in the context of relationship and partnership, all sorts of possibilities emerge that before would have seemed impossible.

All this has great relevance for our human relationships, but it has even greater relevance for our relationship with God - who invites us to approach him with boldness and ask for the things that we want.

PRAY AS YOU GO:

Lord, the truth is that I’m often unsure of what I really want, and when I am sure I’m often reluctant to ask. Maybe it’s because I’m afraid you’ll say ‘No’, or maybe it’s because I don’t really believe that it can be given. Forgive the poverty of my faith, and my hesitancy in sharing my deepest needs and desires with you. Remind me that you are a generous and merciful God, and that you want to be in a close and intimate relationship with me. Give me the courage and the boldness to ask you directly and honestly for the things that I need. Amen.

FOCUS READING:

Luke 18:35-43 - NIV

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord, I want to see," he replied. Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.