Such a relationship is the inner spiritual counterpart of Bartimaeus gladly following Jesus, glorifying God.  From then on one’s life is lived with Christ and ultimately for Christ.  Every temptation surmounted is surmounted as a proof of our love for him; every act of obedience is a personal offering of ourselves to him.

Such then is the choice which this life presents: to remain by the wayside of the world, absorbed in its cares and attractions: or, when Jesus of Nazareth passes by, to brush aside all opposition, to shake free from all hindrances, and to rise and follow in the way that leads to Jerusalem on high.