Choices of the Heart… Only One Thing is Necessary!

Luke 10:38-42 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Sometimes I’m Martha… Martha was distracted with all her preparations(probably more times than I care to confess!).

And sometimes I’m Mary (well, I’m always Mary but sometimes I even act like this Mary)… Mary, was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word.

Martha went right up to the Lord to TELL HIM her need. Which she assumed would be His need also, after all it was ministering to His physical (and His followers) needs. They were having CHURCH right there! You know, church, with all the “righteous” people, like us. Just being in the same building as Him was a blessing! And it was! Martha might not have extended the invitation, herself, but she was excited and prepared to SERVE HIM WELL! She simply wanted Mary to help her complete her mission, for the good of all (well, mostly for the good of Martha).

Mary, on the other hand, didn’t want to (COULDN’T) leave her seat. It wasn’t JUST the words He spoke… it was the Word of God speaking! In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) I don’t know if she really THOUGHT that, but I do believe she KNEW in her heart as she sat at His feet and gazed up at His eyes, that He was, is, and always will be The One!

Martha welcomed Jesus into her home and we know she had a heart to serve Him and wanted above all else to do it well. I believe, she also knew in her heart that He was, is, and aways will be the One.

In fact, I believe what we have here is two Jesus Freaks, going about the business of being the children of God. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:11-13)

As much as I have been trained by and have become much like the many Martha’s throughout my life, I dream and wish to be Mary. “Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Sitting at the feet of Jesus. With no agenda other than to look into His eyes and hear His heart.

Just like Martha, so many servants of God want to know that all the physical needs of their friends, family, and congregations, are managed and taken care of. If there is someone who is free from other tasks at the moment, they SHOULD HELP with the overwhelming number of things yet to do. They want to “help God” make life perfect, then we can ALL sit down and enjoy the sermon. Born-again children should be trained up SERVE!

I agree, Scripture encourages all of us to serve, with love, all of our neighbors (especially those you find hard to love) just as we love ourselves… you shall love your neighbor as yourself… love, being an action verb not a noun. But first, don’t forget, we are to love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. (Matthew 22:37-40)

The Martha’s of the world tend to assume this means to FIX their world so that when God visits, He will give praise to the fixer uppers. “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”

Though I share the name of the sister that chose well, I am easily distracted by all the things needing and waiting to be done. I will put off sitting at the feet of Jesus so that I might accomplish some other task and/or study Scripture to find the best ways and means to handle such tasks. It’s not that I think God can’t/won’t handle the needs and desires of the many, I just want to HELP HIM!

But today, as I write this blog I realize He is waiting for me to SEE He is right here, right now. Today, I hear Him whisper,  “Martha, Martha, Mary, Mary, choose with your heart the good part (Me, in your midst), and it shall not be taken away from you.

Excuse me for a moment my fellow siblings… I’m gonna go sit at the feet of Jesus, gazing into the eyes of the One, the Word of God…care to join me?

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.