“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,
but only one thing is needed.
Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:41 and 42
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I think of all the times I am Martha and I have chosen the things that can easily be taken away…and they have been. I remember how important it was to entertain and have people over and show off all the beautiful things we had acquired; and I wasn’t putting Jesus anywhere in the mix. And I sure had not sat at His feet that day. Fast forward a few years and all the pretty things went away and Jesus became all that was important to me because I saw how fast and fleeting the material things of this world really are. But Jesus is forever.
In this story in Luke, Jesus is visiting the home of the two sisters, and Martha had come to Him to complain about her sister Mary.
As Jesus and His disciples were traveling on their way,
they came to a village where a woman named Martha lived
and she opened her house to Him and she had a sister named Mary.
Jesus sat down in the home and began teaching in a secluded corner.
verses 38 and 39
The people are hanging on every word. Mary is sitting at His feet just drinking in His Presence. Martha is hurrying about, worrying about how everyone would get fed, where they would sit and how this would all come together for they were hosting Jesus!
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.
She came to Him and asked,
“Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?
Tell her to help me!”
verse 40
Martha gets frustrated and interrupts this gathering to complain about her sister not helping and how all Mary is doing is sitting at His feet! The others look up to Him to see how Jesus will react. He tells her (verses 41-42) that Mary has chosen the right thing to do instead of being so busy—she sat at His feet first. All the work will still be there when she gets finished hearing her Jesus but if she gets up too fast, she just might miss something important that Jesus might say to her.
Mary was preparing her heart for Jesus while Martha was running around. She would grasp what little words she could hear Jesus say while she was serving everyone else. But what does Jesus say is the right thing to do? He says, “…Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.” Jesus cannot be taken from her.
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Can you relate to either of these women? Which one are you? If you don’t know, then pray that God will reveal it to you. Ask yourself if you remember to sit at Jesus’ feet before you do anything else…or are you too busy to just be with Him…always in a hurry and forgetting to listen for His voice. We need to remember that God is able to fix those things that we are so busy trying to fix if we will only stop trying and start trusting Him. Trust Him today, friend. And if you don’t know Jesus or maybe you just haven’t made Him Lord of your life, I pray that you will join me in this sinners prayer.
Dear God, I know that I am a sinner. I need a Savior. I believe that Jesus is Your Son and He died to save me from my sins. I ask for forgiveness today. Will You, Jesus, come into my heart today and be my Lord? I want to know more about You as we walk together through life. Thank You for loving me and for forgiving me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
