What do You Most Want?

What do You Most Want?
1 Kings 3:1-15

I used to ask a friend of mine from time to time, “What would you like to do?” The question would usually relate to concerts; I would outline possibilities to her, but she would usually ask me to decide. Just last week she protested that this was because she didn’t know enough to decide; “It would be like me telling you something about the Old Testament,” she said. I saw what she meant, but her hesitation deprived me of the pleasure of our doing something she wanted. I once heard a preacher declare that Jesus’ question to Bartimaeus in Mark 10:51, “What do you want me to do for you,” is the most devastatingly challenging question a person can be asked. Bartimaeus could reasonably have asked for some change (which was the reason he was by the roadside, like a beggar in the United States sitting by traffic lights where the cars have to stop), but he dares to ask for his sight, and he gets not only this gift of healing but the gift of following Jesus. Just a few verses previously, Jesus has asked two of his disciples the same question, and they have asked to sit on thrones either side of him in his glory. Disciples can have less insight than new converts...