Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread?” … “Don’t you remember anything at all? When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?” “Twelve,” they said. “And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?” “Seven,” they said. “Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them.

— Mark 8:17-21

It’s a familiar scene in our house: The dirty dishes are in the sink, and no one seems to notice except my wife.

The rest of us are either oblivious to it or willfully ignoring it.

After taking care of them for the millionth time, she’s rightly more than a little frustrated at her unhelpful family.

“What’s the matter, Sweetheart?” I ask. “The dishes? Oh, did you want help with those?”

Sometimes, actually often, I wish I could get a word redo.

The next 15 minutes were a passionate plea for me to reflect upon the past 30 years of meals and dirty dishes with which I was invited to help.

In the passage above, we discover the failure to remember and understand is not an unusual malady.

The disciples who had picked up baskets filled with leftovers after Jesus fed thousands with just a few loaves and fish began arguing when someone forgot to bring bread.

“You have eyes — can’t you see? You have ears — can’t you hear?” Jesus asked.

They were stuck in their worldly thinking.

It was time to embrace the impossible, to point to the eternal, and to usher in God’s kingdom with Jesus leading the charge.

And yet, there they were fussing about who didn’t pack the lunch.

Honestly, it’s sad how often I find myself in the disciples’ footprints instead of Jesus’.

What about you?

Sometimes our minds are so small there’s no room to store all the wonderful things God has done, so we forget.

Sometimes, they’re so distracted by this world they can’t discern the spiritual.

Instead of turning to God’s word for instruction, we feel the need to “correct” it or patronize it from our position of superior understanding.

Too often, we simply forget or don’t really understand what it means for God to be God and for us not to be.

Take courage.

He didn’t give up on the disciples.

He won’t give up on us.

“What is your request?” he asked. They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” … “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!”

— Mark 10:35-52

There are some “asks” I wish I wouldn’t have made.

Likewise, there are others I wish I would have made.

What about you?

For example, I wish I never would have asked to take a turn trying to use a stand-up paddle board. I nearly ripped off my fingernail and was stalked by a rather large and intimidating barracuda.

On the other hand, I wish I would have asked someone about the wisdom of some of my financial decisions before I made them.

Hmm … it’s truly remarkable to consider the impact on the trajectory of our lives that our asks and non-asks have had.

In our story above, James and John asked Jesus if they could have the seats of honor next to him in his Kingdom. Why not? Someone had to sit there, right?

They wanted to be the big deal, or at least as close to the big deal as possible. Who knows, maybe some of the big deal might rub off on them.

Jesus used their self-centered request to teach all the disciples about the upside-down Kingdom of God.

Bartimaeus just wanted to see.

Apparently, his sight was the means to the end of being able to follow Jesus since that’s exactly what he did when Jesus granted him his request. A home run ask for sure.

What story has our requests been telling these days?

Identify your most recent ask and non-ask. Do they reveal a self-centered life? A careless life? A wise life? An others-focused life? A Jesus-glorifying life?

As you keep inventory of these requests and non-requests, patterns will emerge. Prayerfully evaluate these patterns.

Jesus told Bartimaeus his request was rooted in faith. The Lord repeatedly affirmed these types of requests.

Fascinating.

His story makes me wonder how many blind men on the side of the road remained blind men on the side of the road because they chose not to ask Jesus for sight.

Wiles is senior minister of Fall Creek Christian Church in Pendleton. He can be reached at 765-778-3166.