Luke 10:38-42
New International Version (NIV)
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40But 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!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a]Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Well, here it is... the story that defines my life. I am a recovering hard-core Martha. After only three months at our last congregation, the church secretary gave me a copy of the book Martha to the Max: Balanced Living for Perfectionists. I'm not sure, but I think that was a hint. Ahem.
The truth is that she was absolutely right. I have always tried to do everything. Be everywhere. Go everyplace. And many times, this has been at the expense of my personal relationship with God.
That's where Martha found herself: working, going, doing, but not being, learning, experiencing. She was so caught up in the event itself that she missed the whole point. Jesus, the Lord Himself, was in her home, and she was so busy washing dishes that she couldn't be bothered to stop and pay attention to Him.
What a lesson for us... or for me, at least. And the interesting thing is that Jesus says that Mary has chosen what is better... Mary, who looks suspiciously like a lazy bum. Jesus knew her heart, though, and He knew that she saw an opportunity of a lifetime and seized it.
See your opportunities for spiritual growth. Seize them. And don't get so busy doing for the Lord that you forget how to sit at his feet. It's not laziness. It's maturity.
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