Tis the Season to be Mary
(Sounds like a well known Christmas carol. Doesn’t it?)
Luke 10: 38 – 42 (NKJV)
Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Jesus arrives at the house of His friends Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus. He is there to spend quality time with them. He was not there for a party, he just wanted to spend time with them. He knew that the cross and its torment lay ahead and maybe he was just popping in to be with friends as He prepared for the hard time He knew that lay before Him.
We are then introduced to two different ladies with two very different temperaments. First let’s look at Mary. The Scripture says that straight away she stopped what she was doing to sit at His feet and hear His words. Next we meet sister Martha whose response to her visitor was to hit the kitchen and start preparing a meal which was very a very common thing to do in middle eastern culture.
The problem was not with her hospitality but with the distraction she allowed it to cause in her life. She gets all bent out of shape when She sees Mary sitting at His feet and shares her opinion underlining firmly that she felt someone in the room was being very lazy.
How surprised she must have been when Jesus commended Mary’s apparent laziness and suggested Martha learn from Mary and do the same.
Was Jesus telling Martha off for serving rather than sitting? No, I don’t think so. What He was communicating to her was that there is a time for both. We too can learn so much from this account. There is a time for us to be busy like Martha but also we need to be able to sit at His feet like Mary.
Should you be more like Mary or Martha? I think the answer is that we need to be able to be both and know when the moment is right to be whichever is appropriate or fitting for the season or moment at hand.
Bless You
Andy
A devotional by Pastor Andy Elmes to inspire you with a godly thought to start your day well. God’s word is indeed the breakfast of champions.
Great Big Life
Empowering People
Andy Elmes
Pastor & Leadership Coach
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