“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. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 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. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42
Here in the house of Martha we have four variables at play:
- The Presence of Jesus Christ
- The Word of God
- The worry of Martha
- The worship of Mary
In our own life, we need to ask ourselves a few questions. When Jesus Christ is present, are we too busy moving around? Are we willing to drop everything at that moment and spend time at the Feet of Jesus? What do you think is more important? What will have a greater impact on your life? Which is more pleasing to God, time in the kitchen, or time with Jesus?
We need to come away from the worry of Martha and into the worship of Mary when Jesus Christ enters the room. Martha was “busy being busy” trying to catch the eye of Christ with her movements. Mary knew the best place to be was right there with Jesus, sitting still at His Feet, and listening to His Voice. Martha had placed all her attention on cleaning the kitchen, while Mary casted all her cares and attention on the soul cleansing power of Christ. Mary, through faith, knew the best place for her was where the Son of God was seated and speaking. She wanted to lose herself in the Presence of Jesus and feed on His Life-Giving Word.
Mary was as spiritually hungry and thirsty as we are today. We all need something from the Lord. We need His Restorative Touch, His Unwavering Mercy, His Unending Love, His Flow of Grace, His Eternal Word, His Will, and His Direction. Sometimes all we need is just to be caught up in the Presence of Jesus Christ. It is not about needing one thing, or a multitude of things from Jesus, but it is about the relationship we build with Him and the desire to be in His Presence. Jesus Christ is ready to give us all things the Kingdom of God has to offer. However, if we are too busy worrying about what needs to be done and seeking earthly things, then we cannot receive the Heavenly Things of God. Too many times we let the worries and troubles of life pull us away from our worship of Jesus and time in His Presence. We need to stay planted and hold firm at the Feet of the Master. It is the Lord’s desire that we spend time with Him. The question remains, are we making time for Him?
The messes in of our life will get taken care of if we take time for Jesus Christ. In fact, the mess we created is because we chose the chaos in the kitchen as Martha, and not time with the Lord as Mary. Get out of the kitchen, take a break, sit still, listen to the Word of God, and spend time with Jesus!
