Scripture:
Luke 10:38-42 ESV
[38] Now, as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. [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.”
Observation:
Jesus had just walked a long way and was not only tired but dirty more than likely. As HE entered into a village… HE was met with an invitation from a Landy named Martha to come in and sit down. As HE did, Martha went to work preparing a meal, getting the house clean… after all, Jesus, the christ was in her home things had to be just right. Her sister took a slightly different approach to having a guest in their home rather than getting busy and cleaning. She chose to sit at the feet of Jesus. To soak in all that HE was saying. After all, HE is the Christ. The son of the living GOD HIS teachings were sought after. All this didn’t sit well with Martha. However, who had so much to do that she seemed to be chasing her tail. Her distraction with the list of things that needed to be done to make things perfect brought her some irritation with her sister. You can almost see the thoughts running through her head… look at her just sitting there while I do all the work… doesn’t she know who HE is? Doesn’t she know why I invited HIM in? It’s Jesus Christ, the son of the living GOD, and this house is a wreck. That’s it. I’m going to say something. The floor needs swept, and these dishes are not going to wash themselves. I need some help. Martha’s irritation finally brought her to a point where she had to say something. So she approached Jesus and said something like… LORD, I am here to serve you. I have so much I need to do to make my house perfect for you, and my sister is just sitting down doing nothing to help me. Will you tell her to do something please… after all, she is hanging on your every word. The response that Jesus gave was not what Martha had expected… the anxiety you have over making things just right getting your house in order and serving me is all wasted if you don’t just sit and visit with me Martha. Your sister is doing the right thing. She is taking the time to get to know me more. While you are distracted by making the impression that things are perfect in your life.
Application:
It’s easy to get busy… after all, there is so much to do and so little time to do it. I think it’s important to serve. It makes you feel like you are a part of something… Honestly, it’s how Jesus taught HIS disciples how to lead. It’s what being a leader is. Services is where you give back what has been so freely given to you. BUT when you start getting things out of place. It becomes a problem. I love to serve. In fact, it’s one of my favorite things to do. But I remember a time when I would look around at all the work that needed to be done and how few people decided to help and get upset thinking to myself, “Don’t they see all the work that goes into this why can’t they show up an hr early like I did?” It’s easy to get caught up in all that and forget why you are doing it. Getting busy for Jesus doesn’t always mean your relationship with HIM is good. Oh, it may look that way to everyone else… as you complain inside yourself about how 10% of the people do 90% of the work. But just the fact that you are complaining says that something is out of line. Maybe it’s time to just sit at HIS feet… after all, HE is the savior of the word. Running around making everything look good on the outside when your life is a wreck on the inside sounds a lot like the approach the Pharisees took. Pointing out the flaws in others so that their cup being empty did not draw attention. It’s just not built to work that way. We have to take time to fill our cup. You can’t give what you don’t have. Sit down at HIS feet. Let HIM fill you up. HE is more than enough. I know what it feels like to be empty on the inside. Having nothing to offer. Yet looking all put together on the outside. My point is that we have to take time to just be with Jesus. If we don’t, we will just start resenting those whom we are meant to serve. That’s when we get Cynical… getting the look at me Syndrome. All the while empty with nothing to offer… come to the table, get filled up… you can’t pour from an empty cup.
Prayer:
Father, we know that there is work to be done, and we don’t want to miss that at all. It feels good to give back… however, don’t let us miss the reason we do the work. It’s all because of you. We can do nothing good without you. We need our cup filled to overflowing. Help us to always remember to take the time to just sit with you. Our relationship with you has nothing to do with how much we do for you… it’s about the time we spend seeking who you are. Let us not forget that. We know that we can get caught up in wanting everything to look good and miss the whole point. That’s not our goal, Father. We honestly want to know you. We want our change to come from the inside. We are only clay jars, and without you, we have nothing to offer. So all we ask today is for you to fill our cups to over full. So that we have something to offer. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.