Bible Reading: Isaiah 33-34; Philippians 2
“But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:42
There is no child of God with a ‘small’ life because we have been given the very life of God (John 10:10, Abundant life) but then you can live out that life in a very small way if you allow the things around you to distract you and keep you bound and unhappy. This is exactly what was happening to Martha in Luke 10. The Bible says in Luke 10:38, “Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.” I want you to notice that Martha welcomed Jesus into her house and ordinarily you would expect that she should be a very happy woman but contrary to expectations she was a very unhappy and sad woman.
Rather than ‘enjoying’ Jesus, Martha was working very hard to ‘serve’ Jesus but she was not happy. This defines many Christians who have received Jesus as Lord; are actively serving Him in one capacity or the other and yet aren’t enjoying the fullness of life. Every time you see them, they look sad, frustrated with no real spring in their steps and because of the ‘internal’ fights and battles that they have within themselves. Such people take it out on everyone and everything around them like Martha was taking it out on Mary. Yes, Jesus wants us to serve Him but He wants it to be out of love, fellowship and not out of frustration and distraction (Luke 10:40).
When Martha complained to Jesus He answered, “… And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:” – Luke 10:41. Notice that Jesus identified Martha’s problem – and it wasn’t about Mary not serving! Jesus knew that Mary listening to Him wasn’t Martha’s real problem, rather it was because Martha was troubled about ‘many’ things. Refuse to be troubled by ‘many things’ and focus on the One person that really matters – Jesus.
Are you troubled about many things – the house rent, your spouse, children, the office assignments, targets you have to meet and the economy? Are you working hard to please people who do not like you or are you serving in order to be appreciated and be loved by God? The truth is you need to take a rest in Jesus’ presence. Even though you are born again, you need to habitually practice sitting at the Master’s feet and learning from Him through His Word because that is what your real life is about. This is the good part that our text says that Mary chose. Receive grace to choose the good part.
PRAYER: Father, help me to focus on Jesus and keep my mind on You to enjoy the good part of life.
Pastor Alfred Samuel