Luke 10:38-42
Two sisters, Mary and Martha, were busy preparing for Jesus' visit. Upon His arrival, the first sister turned her attention to Him while the second was distracted by the preparations (v. 40). She became agitated that Mary was no longer helping. We may be thinking Martha is right—if there is still work to be done, her sister should not be sitting down. Then we hear Jesus' perspective. Observing that Martha was worried and upset about many things when only one thing was needed, He said Mary had chosen what was better (v. 42).
There are some important lessons to be learned from this story. First, to have fellowship with Jesus, we may have to leave some things undone. Jesus knew how hard the women had been working and how much Martha longed to finish the tasks. But their greatest need was to spend time with Him. Their focus was to be on listening, learning, and interacting with Him.
The second lesson is that our choice to forgo an activity may be misunderstood. Martha certainly didn't comprehend her sister's decision. What's more, if we fail to take time with Him, there may be unpleasant consequences. Martha's distraction led to worry and agitation. Jesus invited her to choose the better way—namely, to be with Him.
Establishing a habit of communing with the Lord is essential to our spiritual health. Connecting with Him regularly will sharpen our focus on what is most important and help us separate what is good from God's best. Even in our daily work, we can learn how to maintain an awareness of Him.
I like how you stated that before Jesus arrived, BOTH spent their time preparing for Jesus. I think sometimes people who are natural planners can sometimes take preparation versus prayer as an all or nothing action. But, not only is this a great reminder of keeping our priorities in place, it can also be a guide for planners... One lesson is to incorporate priorities in each plan. Simply doing something to get it done is not a responsible way of managing our time. God wants us to manage each gift responsibly and keep it in perspective.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I really think that Martha had the best intentions. But just like many Christians today, she got caught up in the busyness of life and focused more on doing for God, versus giving God and opportunity to do for her.
When we surrender to Jesus and accept his gift of salvation, there are a few things that happen which may stop us from truly accepting his whole gift of love, peace, grace, mercy and wisdom.
1-We feel overwhelmed by how much he loves us that we want to GIVE back
2-We are still struggling with our worthiness and don't want to "ask too much" of God (or feel like He’s already given enough)
3-We don’t want to disappoint God by continuing our old habits, so we shift focus on DOING things, rather than completely surrendering old habits
4- We really don’t understand or believe how awesome God REALLY is and take him for granted.
The challenging part overcoming these 4 mindsets is that they REQUIRE complete surrender and daily prayer. Maybe, from a planner’s point of view, that’s really the most important thing we need to focus on each day. Because from that point, everything else will into place.