Luke 10:39-42 (NLT)
39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
So, I must confess that if I were in this situation, if Jesus were coming to my house, best believe I would be all over the place, too. I'm right there with ya, Martha! I mean, even when "normal" people come to my house I stress over the way it looks and how clean things are (or aren't). I don't want them to judge me based on those things or to perceive me differently after seeing my obviously lived-in and mostly messy house and eating my less than mediocre home-cooked meal. But if Jesus were coming!?!? Ha, I'd probably be running around like a chicken with my head cut-off tidying up the house in ways I never have before and trying to make something immaculate. Something fit for a king, for The King. Here's what I want to focus on, Martha's heart wasn't necessarily in the wrong place but what she failed to recognize is that what Jesus was (and is) most concerned with is spending time with us, not with what we bring to the table (and yes, I do mean that both literally and symbolically). That's why Mary got it right, she chose to just stay there, at His feet, attentively soaking up all of this knowledge and instruction He had to offer. I admit though, that as a woman, I would've been just as frustrated with her, whining like Martha had, "This is so unfair, Jesus! Why's she just sitting there, while I'm over here trying to do all this hard work by myself!?" To which Jesus would smile at me and reply, "My beloved daughter, why are you so concerned with all these petty things, all I want from you is for you to be with me."
Then it hits me, hard. I really do do that all the time. I get so caught up in whatever I think "needs" to be done that I miss out on the single most important aspect of my life: Spending quality quiet time alone with Him. Just like when my friends come over, I am driven by this common misconception that He is going to judge me based on how out of hand things have gotten and all my 'junk' I've let pile up. I trick myself into thinking that in order to come face to face with this holy God, I need to try and make things pretty, more presentable, first. I have to at least appear like I've got it somewhat together. I simply cannot let Him see me like this. Really though, what a silly thing for me to think. When you think about it logically, that's like trying to make yourself healthy before you go to see the doctor. Huh? Exactly, makes no sense. That's percisely what He's there for. To help us 'clean-up' so-to-speak. He commands us to come as we are. He loves us regardless of the condition that we're currently in. All He wants is for us to desire Him, to spend that precious time with Him. Which will, in-turn, eventually assist us in getting a better handle on things and getting our lives back on track.
So what do we take away from this? Well my fellow Martha's, I think it's time that we stop worrying so much about the preparations and how we're presenting ourselves and focus more on the simple act of sitting at His feet and drinking in His every word, as much as we can. It's time for us to strive to be like humble, hungry-for-truth Mary in a world comprised mostly of way too busy people-pleasers and show-offs. We need to realize that pretending to be those things will get us nowhere. The closer in connection with God we get the more we recognize how adverse His teachings are compared to our initial knee-jerk reaction to things. Which are brought on by the cultural norms of this day in age that we've so easily become accustomed to and just plain human nature. The world will tell us that beauty is everything. That we have to be pretty and in-shape, that our houses have to be spotless, that our children cannot be dirty, and that our marriages have to be (what appears to be) "perfect" at all times. However, Christ gently reminds us that what is most important to Him is our heart. He reassures us is that we are to live in this world but not of it. He commands us first to love Him and second to love others, above ourselves. His Word tells us to rejoice in our short-comings, for we know that in our weaknesses His power is made strong within us. In doing so, in meditating on His truths, our lives will become transformed. The people of this world will not understand and they will stare and point fingers and demand that (according to the world's standards) we do 'what we're supposed to,' but God, who sees our heart, and fervor for Him will bless us for we have discovered what truly matters most and "it will not be taken away from [us]."
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