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ter , Mary , who sat before the Master and hung on every word He said .” Luke 10:39
Mary gets it in this story . She understands what a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity it is to have Jesus visit her home , what special and sacred time she gets to spend with Him . She doesn ’ t care if there are crumbs on the floor or wrinkles in her dress . She just wants to be absolutely present in every moment . Hanging on every word He says .
Martha , meanwhile , is in the background scurrying around the kitchen , stirring soup and mixing spices and chopping vegetables and trying to keep the floor and the counter spotless through it all . I can feel the resentment that must have been brewing in her heart as she looked over and saw peaceful , joyful Mary , just sitting at Jesus ’ s feet .
“ Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen . She interrupted
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Mary and Jesus , saying ‘ Master , don ’ t you care that my sister has abandoned me in the kitchen ? Tell her to come help me .” Luke 10:40 Listen to Jesus ’ s response . Let it resonate in your heart . Replace Martha ’ s name with your own in these verses . Can ’ t you just hear Him saying this to you ? Gently taking the whisk or the agenda book or the iron or whatever it is from your hands , setting it down , looking you in the eyes , and telling you that you stress and worry about so many things when you only need one .
“ The Master said to her , ‘ Martha , Martha , you ’ re getting worked up over nothing . Only one thing is essential , and Mary has chosen it . It won ’ t be taken from her .” Luke 10:42
Out of the million things we make ourselves believe we need to do each day- out of all the tasks on our lists and worries that
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come up throughout the day- one thing is essential . Only one . And we already have Him ! We don ’ t need to work to please Him .
We don ’ t need spotless houses or perfectly curled hair or a jampacked resume .
The Lord speaks to me with this one . I am so Martha . I find my purpose in having a plan , a schedule , a list , an agenda- and being able to cross off things as I accomplish them .
When I look back on my day , checked boxes and crossed-off lines are how I determine its success . No matter if I spent the entire day running around like a chicken with its head cut off . No matter if I didn ’ t bother to take time to show my family and friends that I care about them . No matter if I ignored God ’ s little promptings throughout the day to go show someone His grace . My to-do list is done ! My bed is made and my workout is complete .
And then I stop for
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a few seconds and start to wonder why I always feel so anxious , like there ’ s something I could or should be doing that I ’ m not . I ’ m sure you know that feeling . It ’ s terrible , isn ’ t it ?
Martha was busy serving . She was cooking and cleaning because she wanted Jesus to feel at home in her house . She wanted Him to have the best experience possible . She wasn ’ t doing anything wrong , she was just missing the point . Just as there ’ s nothing wrong with planning our days , noting what we need to get accomplished . To some , that ’ s a necessity .
The real issue lies within our lack of willingness to drop everything and just step into the presence of God . Jesus entered Mary and Martha ’ s home and Mary stopped what she was doing . Jesus was here , and what could be more important than that ? What task really needs to be done right this moment when Jesus is sitting in the living
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