Luke 10:38 ¶ Now it came to
pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman
named Martha received him into her house. 39
And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and
heard his word. 40 But Martha was
cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not
care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help
me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto
her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath
chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Much has been made
about this passage regarding being so busy working for the Lord, or the church,
that you don’t take time to be with the Lord. Usually these sermons are made by
people who insist that you be busy for the Lord, as busy as possible. So, there
is always this tension, especially in fundamentalism where issues of control
play such a big part.
Martha was doing the
needful things, which we all must do, whether it be taking care of our
families, working a job, or taking care of our dwelling place so it does not
fall down around our ears, and, of course, serving our church family and
organization. But we must find that balance, that time to devote to God. We
need to learn to pray at times devoted solely to prayer and to pray when we are
doing needful things. We need to read God’s word at set times, quote verses
from memory when engaged in other activities, and at all times meditate on it.
There is a strong
cultural undercurrent to serve guests, not to dishonor them, which would have
been part of what drove Martha. Our motives are never a hundred-per-cent pure.
She probably had Jesus and His entourage on her mind and wanted to be a good
hostess. We can get so wrapped up in what we think we must do to spread the
gospel or support the church that it becomes less an act of devotion than an
obligation driven by cultural demands and a sense of guilt if we don’t meet a
certain standard. And it is amazing how much work Christians will do without
Christ being a part of it.
The emphasis here and
the lesson to be learned, and I am sure there are many, is to make sure that,
in spite of all of the things you feel you have to do, that seeking to spend
time with God, to include Him in your daily, even hourly, life, to spend time
speaking to and listening to Him is one of the main things, that good part.
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