What do you want me to do for you?

Two weeks in a row, Jesus asks the question above. Sure, He died on the cross, rose from the dead, and saved us from our sins, and yet, he still asks that question. This week, Bartimaeus, the blind man, answers by saying that he just wants to see.

What would your answer be? I'm thinking, well...I'd love a new computer, maybe a new cell phone, a new video game system, and how about a Porche? Over the course of my life I might get those things, but thinking about the question again, and what Jesus is asking, I slowly reform those answers. How about some happiness in everyday interchanges and conversations, or more people doing good than bad, not to mention world peace etc. I'm not trying to be Miss America, but those things don't seem too bad. I don't know that they will happen in five minutes or five decades, so the only thing I can do is wait with my faith. God will get it done when he sees fit. Who am I to decide if people are happy or not? Faith is a great thing. I have confidence that God is indeed there for me, no matter what is happening both close to me and far away in the world around me.

Finding God in the most trivial of things in your life helps to strengthen that faith. Nature, relationships, and even discovering a new piece of mind can all contain God. I like though, finding God in people. He might be in a homeless man rummaging around the Commons, would you walk by him if it was indeed God? Sometimes giving money isn't necessary. Jesus teaches us to give up everything to the poor, but at times it is just as good to utter a simple, "Hello, how are you?" Scared as you may be to start this random conversation, it won't kill. In times like those, the idea that we as humans are made in God's own image and likeness rings true. We are asking Jesus' question, "What do you want me to do for you?" At that point, you can not only see God in the homeless man, but in yourself too.

As strange as it may seem, sometimes I see God on the football field too. This weekend was a bye week for the Ithaca Bombers, so I finally was able to watch some Division I college football. I fell upon a game where the Florida Gators were playing, and as always were Quarterbacked by star Tim Tebow. His background is impeccable, with mission trips, great grades, friends, not to mention he is pretty good at football. That is not where I saw God in him though. Right below his eyes, written on his eye black, were the words "Phil 4:13". I had heard how how he wore John 3:16 during the National Championship, and here is the link to how it affected America...

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=85729

That kind of faith is rare, especially in the sports world. He knows he is a public figure, and uses that to spread the Word of God. He is not doing it for his own recognition, but for others so that they may have the chance at discovering the grace of God. So yes, on a late October night, in the South, on a football field, amidst thousands of screaming fans, God was present.

You may want anything from a Mustang to an end to War, but the real peace and happiness comes not from asking, "What can you do for me", but rather, like Jesus said, "What do you want me to do for you?" Then, God is present in you.