THURSDAY, JANUARY 12
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:39-42
Managing Tensions: PRIORITY
Through this teaching series, we are looking at how we manage the various tensions in our lives. Luke 10:39-42 illustrates the importance of priorities. We see Martha and Mary in the same room doing two very different things. Martha is busy, preparing a meal and serving the guests, whereas Mary is situated at the feet of Jesus, giving him her undivided attention.
Both are doing good things but Jesus deems that Mary has done the ONE THING of simply being with Jesus. Martha appears to be busy, while Mary is soaking up the moment with Jesus.
John Ortberg has said,
For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.
Ortberg’s words are haunting and resonate deeply with my experience of life. Busyness has a way of distracting us from what matters most. This busyness disconnects us from God and from the people around us.
I think Martha had great intentions, but she was so occupied with doing things FOR JESUS, that she forgot that the primary this is to be WITH JESUS. As we manage this tension of margin versus busyness, may we know that we are not primarily meant to do things FOR God but WITH God.
We go WITH GOD.
We go to work WITH GOD.
We go to the store WITH GOD.
We cook dinner WITH GOD.
God delights in being with us and displaying His glory as we live in all the spaces and places He has given us influence! May we throw off distractions and the busyness of doing something for God, and focus on the main thing: Being with Jesus.
Prayer
Our Father,
Thank you for your Word. We pray that by your Spirit, Luke 10:39-42 would change us into the likeness of Christ. Help us, Spirit, to throw off distractions, to eliminate busyness from our lives and simply be with you. Your presence changes everything. Father, we pray this now through The Son, and By the Spirit. Amen.
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