Luke 10:38-42 (NASB) 38 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word.
40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me."
41 But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;
42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
I was informed last night that the owner of the company that I work for was killed in an automobile accident a couple of days ago. I have never met the man, but I have met and talked with one of his sons on a couple of occasions. As I digested this untimely tragedy last evening, I wondered to myself of all the time and effort and energy that it must have taken to build a company of this size. The responsibilities that come with building and running a company of this size certainly must be daunting. When I woke up this morning with his death still in my head I picked up my tablet to check on what was going on in the world. Remember the pinball machines you played as a kid? What would happen when you bumped the machine too violently trying to get some added action to the ball movement? Remember? TILT! TILT! And you lost your game. Well, that was my brain after 10 minutes perusing the headlines. So, in the midst of catching up on all the insanity I had this brainstorm. (Not a brainstorm actually, but you can picture it right? smile) We spend our lives devoting ourselves to our own pursuits, either for ourselves or in the service of others and suddenly without warning, it all disappears in a breezy waft of smoke. Poof...gone in 60 seconds. As I pondered the death of my employer, the genocide in Iraq, the ebola outbreak,the umpteen trillion dollar debt we have rolled up, need I go on? I can you know, as I am sure you can also. With all that "stuff" floating around, this passage of Scripture came to mind. Before I continue, for a while, whenever I saw the word Martha,I inserted my name;then, towards the end of the passage I plugged into Mary's name. You'll understand as we go along or at least my sister and mother will.(smile)Let's take MARTHA'S side for a minute. O.K.? Get the picture here. Plug yourself in. The Son Of God and his entourage just came rolling in to your town and you have invited Him to stay in your home while He is in town. Do you think that you might want the living room straight? You might want to wash last night's dirty dishes. Maybe make up the bed, vacuum the rug and on top of all of that... they probably will want something to eat. So, here is Martha, KILLING HERSELF trying to get all the preparations done for all these people, oh yeah and Jesus too. I can see her now, running all over Hades and half of Georgia trying to get this stuff done. So, Jesus walks in and here is poor Martha, exhausted, still going, trying to get everyone served.. And then there's Mary. My sister and my mother are taking notice now, as Mary seems to fit someone they know very well. I will mention no names to protect the guilty.
Here is Mary, Hello? Anybody at home in there? Ronn...er I mean Mary.Mary? MARY?! Jesus is here! Are you gonna get off your behind and help? Well, you know the rest of the story. If you don't, then read the above passage again. Brothers and sisters, Martha had a valid complaint. There were "things" that needed to be done. There were responsibilities. As it was then, so it is now. Our daily lives are filled with problems, responsibilities,tasks, and if you don't have anything to concern yourself about, just turn on the news, you'll find plenty. "God,I love you. You know that I do. But, everybody and everything is pulling and DEMANDING my time." Ever had that conversation? If you don't do it, it won't get done. I HAVE TO DO IT GOD! I DON'T HAVE TIME TO STOP Ever feel like that? That was basically what Martha told Jesus. And she was telling the truth. But, look at Jesus' reply.
Luke 10:41-42 (NASB) 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;
42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
Folks, it can all be gone in an instant. A flash of time and our sand castles that we have spent a lifetime building can be carried out to sea with a changing tide. God is telling us to put it all aside for a minute. Sit at His feet for a little while. We don't have to forsake our dreams or give up our pursuits, nope, just lay them aside for a few minutes and choose "the good part." Spend some time with Him. We can solve all the world's and our problems AFTER we allow Him entrance into our hearts and lives.The world is awash with evil. If you don't think that there is a war RAGING for our very souls, then you and I are on different planets. The Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus ALONE is our very present help. Let us choose the good part.
Psalm 121:1-2 (NASB) 1
2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
God Bless
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