Luke 10:38-42
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
The gospel of Luke tells us a story about Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus. Perhaps you've heard of Lazarus? He is famous because Jesus raised him from the dead. In Luke chapter 10, however, the emphasis is on Martha and Mary. You see it was Martha who received Jesus into her house. If it had not been for Martha, Lazarus would not have been raised from the dead. Why? Because Jesus would not have been welcomed into this home. He would not have been around to raise Lazarus from the dead; the friendship would not have existed. Verse 38 makes is clear to us that it was Martha who received (invited?) Jesus into her home. Yet it was Martha who received the strongest rebuke from Jesus.
At first glance it doesn't seem to be right. Martha was cooking and cleaning while Mary was in the living room (probably with the men) listening to Jesus talk. Martha simply asked Jesus to tell Mary that she was needed in the kitchen. It seemed a reasonable request. But instead of sending Mary to the kitchen Jesus invites Martha to the living room to sit and hear him teach. I know I'm using my imagination to fill in the gaps but bear with me. Mary is so desirous to hear Jesus words that she is literally sitting on the floor at his feet. Martha is concerned with feeding the crowd in her home. While this may have seemed like a noble cause it was not the most important thing. She had the king of kings in her home yet she was worried about cleaning the drapes.
Our lives in 2013 are so busy. It seems to take all day at times to get one task accomplished. We start off in the morning with good intentions to accomplish much yet at the end of the day we are bone tired and feeling as if we got nothing done. I'm sure this was how Martha was feeling. She was a conscientious worker, no doubt, and wanted to get all her tasks in order. Yet Jesus was asking her to reevaluate her priorities.
I believe there are two lessons to be learned from this story. Number one, Jesus must always have the number one spot in our lives. We can get so busy doing the things of life that we don't take time for him. We can be so busy doing things for him ( church work, etc.) that we neglect our personal devotion time with him. In the end all these things will not matter if we don't know Jesus.
Number two is the importance of family and friendships. There is a principle here that we often miss. Relationship building. The relationships that we build in life are more important than the tasks we accomplish. While Martha was busy cooking and cleaning Mary was developing a friendship with the One who would later raise her brother from the dead.
Lord, help me to look beyond the tasks of the day and be sensitive to the people in my life. Each of them is important. Perhaps you've placed them around me so that I can minister to them. Don't let me be so caught up in serving the physical needs that I neglect the spiritual. Though I will not neglect my duties, let me like Mary choose to put my energy into the most important things. Amen
Sincerely,
Sullivan Jones
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
The gospel of Luke tells us a story about Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus. Perhaps you've heard of Lazarus? He is famous because Jesus raised him from the dead. In Luke chapter 10, however, the emphasis is on Martha and Mary. You see it was Martha who received Jesus into her house. If it had not been for Martha, Lazarus would not have been raised from the dead. Why? Because Jesus would not have been welcomed into this home. He would not have been around to raise Lazarus from the dead; the friendship would not have existed. Verse 38 makes is clear to us that it was Martha who received (invited?) Jesus into her home. Yet it was Martha who received the strongest rebuke from Jesus.
At first glance it doesn't seem to be right. Martha was cooking and cleaning while Mary was in the living room (probably with the men) listening to Jesus talk. Martha simply asked Jesus to tell Mary that she was needed in the kitchen. It seemed a reasonable request. But instead of sending Mary to the kitchen Jesus invites Martha to the living room to sit and hear him teach. I know I'm using my imagination to fill in the gaps but bear with me. Mary is so desirous to hear Jesus words that she is literally sitting on the floor at his feet. Martha is concerned with feeding the crowd in her home. While this may have seemed like a noble cause it was not the most important thing. She had the king of kings in her home yet she was worried about cleaning the drapes.
Our lives in 2013 are so busy. It seems to take all day at times to get one task accomplished. We start off in the morning with good intentions to accomplish much yet at the end of the day we are bone tired and feeling as if we got nothing done. I'm sure this was how Martha was feeling. She was a conscientious worker, no doubt, and wanted to get all her tasks in order. Yet Jesus was asking her to reevaluate her priorities.
I believe there are two lessons to be learned from this story. Number one, Jesus must always have the number one spot in our lives. We can get so busy doing the things of life that we don't take time for him. We can be so busy doing things for him ( church work, etc.) that we neglect our personal devotion time with him. In the end all these things will not matter if we don't know Jesus.
Number two is the importance of family and friendships. There is a principle here that we often miss. Relationship building. The relationships that we build in life are more important than the tasks we accomplish. While Martha was busy cooking and cleaning Mary was developing a friendship with the One who would later raise her brother from the dead.
Lord, help me to look beyond the tasks of the day and be sensitive to the people in my life. Each of them is important. Perhaps you've placed them around me so that I can minister to them. Don't let me be so caught up in serving the physical needs that I neglect the spiritual. Though I will not neglect my duties, let me like Mary choose to put my energy into the most important things. Amen
Sincerely,
Sullivan Jones
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