It Starts Small

What do you want me to do for you?

It is a simple enough question that gets asked twice in the 10th chapter of Mark, yet the answers are different and in this we find the brilliance of the question asked.

At the heart of this question, it is a diagnostic question. The question gets right to what we truly believe in. This question gets past all our defenses and facades. It cuts right to the heart of the matter. What is it we truly believe will give us life and the meaning we long for?

For James and John, it was honor. They wanted to sit on either side of Jesus in His glory. They wanted to sit in the spots for the most important people. They wanted the spots reserved for the most important people. We should not be surprised by this. All along they had been arguing constantly about who was the greatest. Position was very important to them.

Bartimaeus was different. He knew he was at the bottom of the food chain and just begged for mercy. When asked the same question, he replied:

“Rabboni,” the blind man said to him, “I want to see.”

Mark 10:51

What an incredible request if you think about it.

What do we learn between these men? James and John did not have the wisdom to ask this because they thought they could already see.

These two stories, side-by-side, are a beautiful contrast and beg a question of us: who are me most like?

Thoughts to Ponder:

• What do you want?
• DO you see the differences between these questions asked?
• Does it change what you want and how you would answer the question?

© Kimberlee Smith 2025 http://www.itstartssmall.com All rights reserved.