This past weekend I felt very fortunate to hear a sermon on a familiar gospel story that I have already written on. The speaker shared a little different view on the story that I believe is a valid interpretation that was very enlightening to me~~great truth that we can all reflect on and rectify in our lives if necessary.
The gospel story is from Luke 10:38-42:
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village.
And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.
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.”
But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (ESV)
++++++++++++
We see that Martha was busy serving which is an important task as we know. If she was not busy serving the people might not have had food to eat!
Notice that Martha was “distracted” with this serving.
What else did Jesus specifically mention to Martha?
Yes, that she is anxious and troubled by many things.
What did Mary choose to do when Jesus came to their house?
She sat at the Lord’s feet listening intently to Jesus’ teaching. Mary wanted to learn more and was interested in what Jesus had to share.
Why did Mary choose to focus on listening to Jesus?
A valid explanation could be that Mary had that personal relationship with Jesus and knew of its great importance in her life. She knew in her heart of hearts that He was the Messiah and knew that the most important thing in this life was that relationship. Wanting to grow into a deeper relationship with Him drove her to sit at His feet; being in His Presence.
Martha had not yet come to that point in her life where her relationship with Jesus was that personal intimate relationship which was most important in her life. She was distracted by the things of this world that can consume our time and prevent a personal encounter with Jesus every minute of our lives.
What important by-product of a personal relationship with Jesus did Mary exhibit that Martha did not?
Photo courtesy of Traveller_40 under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0); words added by hopetoinspireyou.com
Mary was content and not anxious as she was willingly listening to Jesus.
Mary found what Jesus came to give~~True peace in Him!
Martha lived an anxious life being troubled by the “things” of this world rather than setting her thoughts on things above and the one whom she could put her hope and trust.
Martha did not have that inner peace that comes from living a life trusting Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior. Peace of mind and peace of heart were lacking in Martha’s life. She let the circumstances of this life evade the peace that she needed.
Take a few moments to reflect on your life.
Viewing the story of Martha and Mary in this way….do you think you are more of Martha or Mary?
If you believe that you are more of a Martha, may I encourage you to surrender and work on sitting at the feet of Jesus…spending time alone with Him, in prayer, reading the Bible, just being with Him. The more you do it, the closer He will be in your life.
If you believe you are more of a Mary, continue in that path daily in your life; that deep abiding relationship.
Live each day, each moment, as Jesus said Mary did,
“But one thing is necessary; Mary has chosen the good portion; it will not be taken away from her.”
Be set apart from this world; live life differently because of your personal relationship with Jesus. He makes the difference!
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” –John 14:27 (NLT)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
A crowd was sitting around Jesus, and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, and they want you.” Jesus answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” He looked at the people sitting around him and said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers!” –Mark 3:32-34 (GNT)
As stated above in your post – I find this very calming: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:6-7
I’m going to try to think about this today, as I, from past experience worry about everything…When you worry too much, you can’t make good choices….Also I’ve cut back on watching the news on TV – as that makes me very anxious and depressed also. Trying to stay positive and calm…Trust in God that everything turns out for the best…Trust in him that I can remain calm and peaceful during stressful situations.
Thanks so much for reading and sharing, Carm! I agree that is such a calming verse. It is great that you are putting into practice ways you can remain more calm. Thank you for sharing your words of wisdom; words of great truth to remind us too! Yes, we really do need to keep trusting Him and having that faith in Him!
In case you didn’t see it yet, here is a link I did to a more in depth look at the Philippians verse! God’s perfect timing….
http://www.hopetoinspireyou.com/2019/05/29/words-to-live-by/
Greetings. This post hits right to the core. If I’m being completely honest, I need to flat out admit that I have faltered and fallen short of keeping my eyes fixed upon Him. Instead, I’ve placed my concerns and busyness (making it my business) to dwell on the problem when I desperately need to set my sights to higher heights. May the Lord forgive the error of my ways. And then He hit me with this as I was reading the post: Focusing on the problem makes things appear more problematic. It’s like a surge of emotions comes in and pummels our minds with waves of doubt, fear, anxiety, etc, and they seemingly hit us all at once. (Anxiety and doubt are both by-products of fear.)
If I am consumed by emotions, ultimately, I will become unsettled. How could I presume or assume that my emotions could make any sense out of anything?
I think of the parable that Jesus taught where He teaches about the wise man who built his house upon the rock. The storms came, the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not fall, because that man had a secure foundation on the rock (which is symbolic of the word of God.) However, the foolish one’s house was built on the sand and the storms came, the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell with a great crash. (The Lord gave this to me a few weeks ago: “Castles built on human emotions are like castles made of sand. Ultimately, the tidal waves of life can come in and erode it away and sweep it into the current where I become washed away with it.”)
Much like Peter, who took His eyes off of Christ, I end up drowning and it’s like I’m lost in a sea of emotion. The only way I can truly be found and remain foundational is by standing on what His Word says is true. That’s why the Word says Stand Firm. It’s ironic how that particular story keeps popping up for me. Pretty sure I mentioned it in the last comment I made, lol! Looks like God may really be looking to get not only my attention, but also my affection as well. That definitely goes hand and hand with what you already shared. Mary chose what is better and gave not only her attention, but also affection.
Another side note the Lord gave me just before I started to write. (The value of the problem is not richer than the solution thar Jesus provides as a result of trusting in Him.) Faith is not seeing the results and STILL TRUSTING that God is there despite what it does look like. Faith is not knowing what will happen, but STILL TRUSTING that God will work things out for His good plan and purpose.
(Faith that is blind cannot see what God is doing behind the scenes.)
The mountains before us are not bigger than the God who is for us.
Though I don’t always understand what God is doing or even what’s going on or why it’s happening, I don’t really need to understand. Because then, I’m leaning on my own understanding of things and not depending and relying on God. I need to lean on God and not my self.
Thank you so much for sharing this post. Truly an eye-opener and a heart prober. (Though, that’s the Holy Spirit doing the probing, lol.) Really appreciate you just being obedient and writing that which God tells you to write. All the glory goes to Him. May you be blessed as you faithfully continue to follow His leading.
Christopher~ Thank you so very much for your insightful sharing! It truly is a blessing for me to read your thoughts and know that God is speaking to your heart through these sharings. Yes, all glory goes to Him! Likewise, your sharing ministers to my spirit and encourages me to see things with a wider lens! I really like that “castle” thought you shared and the “attention & affection!”…God has blessed you with great wisdom and insight. Keep taking one day a time letting Him lead you~ Blessings!
Christine–It’s like you stated: “ALL glory goes to God.” Without Him, none of what is written would be possible. He’s the God of Wisdom and every ounce of what is wise or even insightful, comes only from Him. But, thank you for your very encouraging words as these reaffirm that God is truly in the midst of it. It’s pretty evident that He is also speaking to your heart and guiding your steps. Continue to be open to those doors that God will prompt you to walk through. Sometimes the ones that seem most uncomfortable are exactly the ones He wants us to embrace. Many blessings to you as you take leaps of faith on your journey.
Thank you, Christopher, for those encouraging words! Writing is helping me process and understand more of God’s Presence in my life which is such a powerful thing to experience as you know. I am excited to see what doors God is opening~~another recurring theme for me. 🙂 Thank you for your support, blessings and prayers as I continue to share Him in my life.