"'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.'"
(Luke 10:41-42a)

Luke 10:38-41
Martha looks like a Type A personality, responsible and driven. I can appreciate that. It’s important to her that the proper preparations are made. There’s a lot of work to do, for goodness sake! Martha feels it’s unfair that she’s carrying the burden of hospitality while Mary isn’t lifting a finger. Her complaint is familiar: “Lord, don’t you care?” We often say this sort of thing, assuming God is uncaring when we are having a rough go of it.


For Martha, there were probably several non-negotiables to providing “proper hospitality.” There’s just one problem: Her priorities were different than Jesus’. With a loving firmness, Jesus is in effect saying, “No, Martha, I won’t tell Mary to help you. These things that are so important to you are not important to me. I didn’t ask you to do all this work. Providing hospitality is very kind, but Mary has chosen to be fully present instead.” Jesus came to bring His kingdom into our lives. No amount of “doing” on our part can compare with worshiping at His feet.



Scripture Focus

Luke 10:38-41

Insight

In what ways are you tempted to "do for Jesus" rather than to simply "be with Jesus?"

Bible In A Year

  • 2 Chronicles 11-12
  • Psalm 13
  • Matthew 19-20

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