LUKE 10: 38-42 Jesus Visits Martha and Mary
38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
One of the biggest challenges we face as Christians is in setting priorities in our lives. The small day to day things seem to consume our time and energy so looking at an entire year can seem daunting to us. The start of a New Year however, gives us an opportunity to look at what is in front of us. There are things from the past year we were successful with that we would like to build on, there were failures we might like to try again to get right or leave behind and a whole host of areas we have not even tried because we don’t deem them possible for us. If we are honest we will continue the things that are working, drop the failures and let a lack of faith keep us from the things that might really improve not just our lives but the lives of others as well. So how do we go from where we are to where God would have us be ?
The answer is different for each of us and can be a struggle just like the one we read about in Luke 10 between Martha and Mary. They were both in the presence of Jesus and had a choice to make in how they honored him on his visit. Martha chose service in preparing a large meal for their guest while Mary simply went in to visit with Him. Much has been written and spoken about this text to determine which one we are in our lives. The answer here brings us great comfort because we are and should be both just in the right order. God’s greatest desire for us as His crowning creation is for us to have a relationship with Him. To visit and worship Him as not just our creator but our sustainer and guide in this life. If Jesus is the focus of our life then any review and plan forward for action ( SERVICE ) in our lives will be in honor of Him. The Martha in us is not limited or held back by worship but guided by it. We can be a mighty vessel for God provided we use the Compass of Jesus to point us in the right direction and for the right purpose.