Why didn't ya call? - By Constantine Michailidis

What do you want me to do for you? Mk 10:36, 51 (ESV)

These same words of Jesus occur in two different contexts in stories that follow one another. One was when two ambitious apostles wanted to sit at His right hand, and the other when a blind beggar wanted to be healed. One can hardly think of two more different contexts. But there is an important sameness in both of these stories. Jesus exhibited an openness to the requests of people.

The first request may have been from a selfish motivation, but Jesus did not rebuke them for it, but gently told them that they did not know what they were asking because they were unaware of the suffering that He was about to experience. He used the opportunity to teach them about servanthood. The second request came out of suffering and a desperate request to be healed. But Jesus did not heal without first asking what the man wanted. 

Do we need to ask the Lord for something today? Perhaps it is a wrong request. Do not be afraid, the Lord will not rebuke us for asking. He will correct us if it is wrong and perhaps we will learn a great lesson if our hearts are open to hear. But He can also do a great thing in our lives according to His wonderful power and mercy.

And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (15) And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him. 1Jn 5:14-15 (MKJV)

Do you hear Jesus saying to you today, "What do you want me to do?"

Today’s Christian writer is a pastor to Russian Jews in Sydney, Australia. Contact