Luke 10:38-42
New International Version (NIV)
At the Home of Martha and Mary
At the Home of Martha and Mary
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
I have chosen these verses to write about simply because I feel as though this story relates to my life right now more than any other story in the bible. It is easy for me to get into a routine of doing things and forget about those things that are most important. In this instance it is simply sitting at Jesus feet waiting for him to give instructions on what to do next. While it is easy to become a Martha, making big meals, washing clothes, and trying to do all of these things to get the house together. It seems nearly impossible for me to sit still sometimes. Here we see that Jesus strictly says that Mary has chosen what is better and that it will not be taken away from her. This is referring to eternal things, things that greatly contribute to the life of a follower of Christ. So while we may think that our duties are truly important to Jesus what really matters is being obedient enough to sit still and listen to him. In essence, our obedience is much better than our sacrifice. This is a recurring theme that both myself and my husband are seeing right now. Sometimes it is better to simply do nothing and honor God than to do a bunch of things which show no reverence for God at all.
Of course, as a wife there are tasks that I have to perform and even in 1 Corinthians 7:28 Paul talks about how married people will have many troubles in this life and in many instances we will battle between pleasing our spouse and pleasing God, but to marry is not sin (let me make that clear). However, it is extremely important to find the balance between being overly concerned with trivial things and not doing anything at all. I also know that God is honored when we submit to our husbands and when husbands are loyal to their duties to serve their wives. Even beyond our spouses we are to take care of our families and help our brothers and sisters in the faith when necessary, this is greatly talked about in 1 Timothy and several other books of the bible.
So what do we do to find a balance between the two?
The only thing that we really can do is simply trust God and ask him to help us to prioritize our time, recognize that we are finite and that he is infinite. This means that we may not be able to do everything we want or feel we need to do. However, God 's mercies are brand new every morning and we live with the assurance that the Holy Spirit is leading us in all that we do each day. So whether we do a little or whether we do a lot...God is pleased because we chose to acknowledge him first. (Proverbs 4:6-7) Trust the Lord with all your heart, lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will show you which path to take. So the point of this article is to serve as a reminder for the Christian to remember the most important things about life that is adhering to God's commands of: loving Him with all your heart and then loving your neighbor as yourself, no matter who that neighbor might be. In Luke 10:40 we quickly see that Martha was lacking in the area of showing respect for her sister and that she was very demanding. At that moment she was not showing very much compassion for her sister. So while she may have had the motives to serve Jesus she was still neglecting to consider her sister and in the midst she also missed out on Jesus and the fact that all he wanted to do was teach her. So even as I serve to remind others of this, I too have to be mindful of this daily! We are simply on this earth to serve God and to serve each other. God takes care of us but only after we humble ourselves we cannot expect everyone else to cater to our needs. I pray that God will greatly encourage you with this word just as he has done with me today.
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
I have chosen these verses to write about simply because I feel as though this story relates to my life right now more than any other story in the bible. It is easy for me to get into a routine of doing things and forget about those things that are most important. In this instance it is simply sitting at Jesus feet waiting for him to give instructions on what to do next. While it is easy to become a Martha, making big meals, washing clothes, and trying to do all of these things to get the house together. It seems nearly impossible for me to sit still sometimes. Here we see that Jesus strictly says that Mary has chosen what is better and that it will not be taken away from her. This is referring to eternal things, things that greatly contribute to the life of a follower of Christ. So while we may think that our duties are truly important to Jesus what really matters is being obedient enough to sit still and listen to him. In essence, our obedience is much better than our sacrifice. This is a recurring theme that both myself and my husband are seeing right now. Sometimes it is better to simply do nothing and honor God than to do a bunch of things which show no reverence for God at all.
Of course, as a wife there are tasks that I have to perform and even in 1 Corinthians 7:28 Paul talks about how married people will have many troubles in this life and in many instances we will battle between pleasing our spouse and pleasing God, but to marry is not sin (let me make that clear). However, it is extremely important to find the balance between being overly concerned with trivial things and not doing anything at all. I also know that God is honored when we submit to our husbands and when husbands are loyal to their duties to serve their wives. Even beyond our spouses we are to take care of our families and help our brothers and sisters in the faith when necessary, this is greatly talked about in 1 Timothy and several other books of the bible.
So what do we do to find a balance between the two?
The only thing that we really can do is simply trust God and ask him to help us to prioritize our time, recognize that we are finite and that he is infinite. This means that we may not be able to do everything we want or feel we need to do. However, God 's mercies are brand new every morning and we live with the assurance that the Holy Spirit is leading us in all that we do each day. So whether we do a little or whether we do a lot...God is pleased because we chose to acknowledge him first. (Proverbs 4:6-7) Trust the Lord with all your heart, lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will show you which path to take. So the point of this article is to serve as a reminder for the Christian to remember the most important things about life that is adhering to God's commands of: loving Him with all your heart and then loving your neighbor as yourself, no matter who that neighbor might be. In Luke 10:40 we quickly see that Martha was lacking in the area of showing respect for her sister and that she was very demanding. At that moment she was not showing very much compassion for her sister. So while she may have had the motives to serve Jesus she was still neglecting to consider her sister and in the midst she also missed out on Jesus and the fact that all he wanted to do was teach her. So even as I serve to remind others of this, I too have to be mindful of this daily! We are simply on this earth to serve God and to serve each other. God takes care of us but only after we humble ourselves we cannot expect everyone else to cater to our needs. I pray that God will greatly encourage you with this word just as he has done with me today.
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