ARE YOU LIKE MARY OR MARTHA?
One thing I have loved about my study in the book of Luke is that he wrote about accounts that are not in any other of the gospels. As I read this morning about when Jesus visited Martha and her sister Mary, I reflected on which of these two ladies I identified with. Hands down it is Martha! Martha believed who Jesus was and had growing faith. She also had a strong desire to do everything right! (yep, that is me!). I am often teased about my extreme planning and organizational skills. Especially when I whip out my beach trip spreadsheet! However, Martha (just like myself) had some flaws.
Martha welcomed Jesus with open arms into her home. But Luke writes in Chapter 10:38, “Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She wanted to make everything perfect but she was neglecting spending time with Jesus while he was there. We’ve all hosted dinner parties for family and special friends and have felt the weight of trying to make everything perfect! Martha was so caught up in the details of her dinner planning that she forgot the main purpose of the event. Have you ever finished cleaning up from a dinner party and thought, “well I don’t even feel like I got to speak to anyone!” This can happen even in our faithful works.
Frustrated and upset, Martha took her complaint to Jesus because she couldn’t understand why her sister Mary wasn’t helping! Mary was only interested in spending time with Jesus. And I just love the response that Jesus gives her. He loves us so much! “My dear Martha (can’t you hear the love here?), you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about.”
Even when we are busy doing the right thing, it is easy to forget the one thing worth being concerned about. I often find myself here. The only thing we should be concerned about is continuing to learn who Jesus is and growing deeper in our relationship. Period. And the only way to keep this focus is to spend time with Him! Daily! We can’t store it away and draw on the reserves. It is a daily relationship and focus. My Life Application Study Bible says, “Don’t let your service become self-serving!” It’s ok to put the checklist away and the to do list aside. Don’t let the time we work for him deplenish the time we listen to Him.
Happy Saturday! It’s rainy and gloomy but what a great day to just rest and spend time with God!
Heather
