Luke 10:41-42 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Where is Your Focus?
Sometimes it’s the question at the end of the day that discourages me the most. Maybe I’ve gotten less sleep than I’d like, run a little bit late in the morning, and then I’ve worked hard all day…one thing after another. I drag myself back home, and someone asks the question, “What did you do today?” I think to myself, “I don’t know.” There have been many days that I’ve worked hard, but I honestly don’t know what I can show for it. I don’t want to make that an everyday occurrence. What I do can be strengthened if I remember why I’m doing it and for Whom I am doing it.
In Luke 10 we read the story of Jesus’ visit to the sisters, Mary and Martha. The Bible says that Martha received Him into her house, and what follows is based on this basic premise that Martha had a responsibility. It wasn’t bad to recognize it, and she took ownership of it. There’s nothing wrong with that. So, we don’t need to go too hard on Martha. The point of the story that follows is not that you need to just sit and meditate all day and let other people do the work. The point of the story is the importance of focus in our lives.
Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word, but Martha was cumbered and distracted. She was distracted from her guest, her Lord Jesus. The Bible says that Martha was distracted about much serving. Now, serving Jesus wasn’t bad. But, the Bible says she came to Him and said, “Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.” But Jesus answered, “Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things.” She was focused on what she was doing, but not Whom she was serving. In verse 42 Jesus says to Martha, “But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Serving is important, and if you’re not serving I would say it’s not because you’re thinking about the Lord Jesus too much. The point is not that we should stop serving, but that serving should be our response to Jesus and not a distraction from Him.