smacking me in the face...

Two stories from the ministry of Jesus.

One was when Jesus healed blind Bartimeus on the side of road. The other? Jesus healing a paralytic at the pool of Bethesda. What's smacking me in the face?

Jesus looks on these guys with love and compassion and asks them what it is they want.

As if he didn't know.

I imagine not ever being able to see, that my deepest longing would be to have sight. Of if I never had walked, my deepest longing would be to rise up and walk. So, Jesus is really asking them to share their deepest longing. The one that is linked to the core of who they are. Not the longing for stuff or something like that, but the longing for wholeness.

Today, I was asked to imagine being blind Bartimeus, and to imagine Jesus looking at me with what must be a peacefully piercing gaze and hear Jesus say, "What is it that you want?"

It took some time before I was able to answer that question. It took me awhile to get down to the nitty gritty of my soul and find the answer to that question.

The whole thing is smacking me in the face right now...

...and it's awesome...

...mostly...