“Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He taught. 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.’ But the Lord said to her, ‘My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:38-42 NLT)
As a rule, when we read this passage, we’re immediately drawn to one of two “camps.” The “Martha” or the “Mary” camp. But why? It’s not like Jesus and His disciples would have starved if Martha had chosen to sit with Jesus. In all fairness, Martha was likely well versed in hospitality and, very likely, used to serving a level of diners with much more class than Jesus’ disciples.
But to her credit, she recognized she’d never served the Lord of Creation before. This was no ordinary meal; it was a gift to her King. The problem wasn’t what she was doing, it was the priority she gave it. On a much smaller scale we do the same thing when we fail to spend time with our children because we have to work. And when pressed we’d argue: “It’s all for THEM! So, I can provide a nice house for THEM, a great education for THEM, fun vacations for THEM!”
And on and on it goes, but in the process of providing all those very nice things, we lose our kids to the world. The looming question on the hearts of so many unhappy kids is: “Where’s dad/mom? Why is he/she always working (too busy for me)?” And to respond with: “It’s all for YOU!” is empty, shallow, and just not true.
The truth is Martha was a very spiritual woman (check out John 11), and Jesus wasn’t “reprimanding” her, He was merely making a statement of fact. We can’t have intimacy with anybody, but especially Jesus, without spending time with Him. Did you catch the word used in verse 42 in reference to Mary? The Bible said: “There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” “ONLY ONE THING… Mary has discovered it.”
The word translated “discovered” is a word that means “to choose one out of many.” It’s the same word used in reference to Jesus when He chose His disciples. Intimacy with Jesus is a choice we make in and through the routine decisions we make every day. Many today refer to their “God time,” and I respect that and believe I understand what they mean, but the Lord NEVER leaves us. There’s a sense in which every moment of every day is God’s time.
He’s as interested in us “sitting” with Him (posturing our heart) while we’re doing taxes as He is when we’re praying, working, fixing a meal or anything else. Some of the richest times with the Lord in my life have been under a car trying to figure out what’s wrong and/or how to fix it. I remember praying when I was just a young man, under a car with a transmission sitting on my chest: “Lord, if You’ll get me out of this, I will never do this again!” (and I haven’t 😊).
Our option as 21st century believers isn’t Martha OR Mary! It’s Martha AND Mary! There’s a time to give our undivided attention to preparing a meal, working, serving in whatever capacity, but those acts of service must grow out of extended times of worship, sitting at the Savior’s feet, feasting on His goodness, mercy, kindness, wisdom, knowledge, fellowship.
We can’t and won’t be prepared to serve effectively until we’ve worshipped wholeheartedly, enthusiastically and without reservation or interruption. Sit at the Master’s feet – THEN “fix the meal!” Please don’t allow busyness to rob you of intimacy with your Master!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 