AT HOME WITH MARY AND MARTHA..by Nina Keegan

 

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!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38-42

I love this story in the Bible of Mary and Martha..  2 siblings who no doubt have their  normal rivalries and unique gifts and of course complaints about one another.. What two siblings have not had these fault finding  issues from time to time? 

MARTHA WAS SO CAUGHT UP IN HER "work" in preparing for a dinner at her home for JESUS.. can you imagine if Jesus came to your house to eat a meal? that's a high level stressor for sure... Or is it? 

What would Jesus want? 

 Would Jesus expect there to be a perfectly clean house, an elegantly set table, a gourmet meal of the finest cuisine?

No certainly not.. Jesus loved to just be with his friends, he loved to teach them and show them how much their Father in heaven loves them.. He was more concerned about the people gathered at the home for dinner than the dinner itself. He loves and cares about the hearts and souls of his sweet friends. 

He calls us friend..

John 15:15

Mary sat his feet trying to soak up every bit of Jesus' knowledgeable and loving teachings. She simply longed to spend time in the presence of the Lord. Nothing was more important to her than seeking him , being in his presence.. 

By contrast Martha thought because she was doing something in the name of ministry..  trying to impress Jesus, that she was just in her complaining of Mary's lack of help in the preparations.

HOW MANY TIMES DO WE LET A "GOOD" THING GET IN THE WAY OF THE "GREATEST"THING?

We are not human doings we are human beings and yes sometimes we let the good things (even working in ministry or volunteering etc.) get in the way of the greatest thing who is "JESUS" by doing a lot of good things we can miss out on the greatest thing as we can get too bogged down even though the good things are for the Lord. We must seek Him first .. We need to rest in him.. If not .. It's all like chasing the wind..  

The enemy comes to wear out the saints.. Daniel 7:25

What am I saying? Well there is a balance in everything.. We cannot not let the most important things slide because we are too busy doing what we think is a good thing.. Nothing will ever be better or mean more to God than us just spending time with Him.. This has to be first..

WE MUST ALWAYS MAKE TIME FOR GOD.. PUT HIM FIRST ALWAYS AND THEN WE SHALL HAVE ALL OTHER THINGS..

LET US RESPOND TO THE MIRACLE OF JUST BEING ABLE TO KNOW GOD!!

 Is that not the most amazing blessing? Think about that for a minute .. Let that thought rule in your heart.. We get to really know God!  

I'm sure that later when Martha was looking back at the situation, she wondered how much she had missed out on by not getting to spend as much time just sitting with Jesus... letting him talk to her and bless her, I wondered if she had wished she wouldn't have worked so hard,

I wonder if she realized how unimportant it was to have everything so perfect…

I wonder how long she stayed angry with her sister.. Allowing strife into her life..

God has never called us to be perfect in our actions and deeds.. he is so gracious and merciful, he just calls us to love him, to choose him and to put him first in all things! 

God redeems the time, when we spend time with God suddenly everything else we have to do becomes an easier yoke, our burden becomes lighter because God can take care of those things for us and cause us to get more done in less time.. There's an efficiency in things when we spend time with God first because we've prioritized our time …Our day can go much smoother when we we've soaked first and foremost in the precious presence of Jesus

God bless you all!!

Matthew 6:33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Psalm 90:12

So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

I said in my heart, "God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work."Ecclesiastes 3: 17(NKJV)

John 15:15

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.