“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”” Luke 10:38-42
I’ve seen it over and again. People busy with church. And Bible studies. And small groups. And church activities. And church programs. And church service. And church fellowship. And serving God. And serving others. And busy with life, of course. Life outside of church. Like families. Like jobs. Like sports. Like activities. Like whatever. But always careful to keep church in the mix. And everything that goes with church, of course. With one exception.
Christ. Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus who is Lord. Countless people I have met, and meet, are too busy with church – and with life – for Christ. It’s not hard to recognize in others. Not when for years I was the very same way. So caught up in Christianity, and church, and everything Christian, and life, I was too busy for Christ.
Over and again, I hear the excuses. Just like I had. We can fool others. We can fool ourselves. But God knows the truth. For He sees our hearts. And He sees what we do with our time.
Why did Jesus honor Mary in the well-known Bible story above? What did she do?
- She made Jesus Christ her priority
- She gave Jesus Christ her heart
- She gave Jesus Christ her time
- She gave Jesus Christ her love
- She gave Jesus Christ her focus and attention
- She sat still before Him
- She sat at His feet where she was close to Him
- She sat at His feet which showed her humility
- She opened her heart to hear from Him
- She was teachable
- She opened her ears to hear Him
- She didn’t do all the talking like some of us do; she heard
- She made the CHOICE (Luke 10:42) to spend time with Jesus Christ!
When the Spirit of God led me back to this story I had read numerous times through the years, and had heard preached and read about over and again, I figured I had learned everything there was to learn. But the Spirit of God told me He wanted to show me something I had not seen. That’s exactly what He did.
I had never so clearly seen how consumed she was with Him right down to her very posture and attention, and how Jesus emphasized she CHOSE this.
You might be surprised how many excuses I hear from people when I encourage them to spend time daily alone with the Lord and His Word and how they justify their choice not to.
It is a choice you know, and it’s up to us whether we will choose to do what the Lord Jesus Christ said is best.
Will you choose to sit at His feet with God’s Word in hand hearing Him daily, being consumed with Him with an open heart and open ears, submitting yourself to Him, humbling yourself before Him, drawing close to Him, hungering and yearning for Him, thirsting and desiring Him, wanting to be closer to Him, desiring to be more like He is, asking to be conformed to Him, listening, hearing, obeying, being transformed by His Spirit, yielding yourself to Him, enjoying His fellowship, communing with the greatest one who ever was, is, and will be, will you make this choice?
Or will you join the ranks of people too consumed with church, and with life, to be with Jesus?
Which will you choose, dear friend? If God’s Spirit is convicting you right now, don’t brush Him aside. Don’t push Him away. Cry out for mercy and devote yourself to Him continually with the commitment to sit at His feet daily as your greatest priority.