Mary and Martha: Worship and Serve

Mary and Martha: Worship and Serve

By Dave Pound

        Today I would like to share some thoughts and teachings from the book of Luke 10: 38-42. “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.’”

        It's amazing how many different directions you can be pulled before your feet hit the floor. And yet, when the noise quiets and your heart whispers “There must be more…”, that's the Holy Spirit calling you back to what matters most. You and I were not made to live under busyness but to have a better portion. Our intimacy with God–His highest priority for us–determines the impact of our lives. God created human beings with fellowship in mind. First with Himself and then with others. We cannot fully love one another until we ourselves have experienced the love of God. We experience His love when we are willing to surrender to His call, surrender to Him as our Savior, our Lord, and our Friend.

        Two reasons why God seeks our surrender:

        The Lord loves us and desires our fellowship and worship.

        It is vitally important that we spend time at the feet of Jesus every single day, and letting Him share His Word with us. The most important part of the Christian life is the part that only God sees. Unless we meet Christ personally and privately each day, we will soon end up like Martha: busy but not blessed. In order to know someone intimately, you cannot just know what they do, you must know their character and heart. You have to know what motivates them. You have to spend time with them and make an effort to get to know them. The same is true for God. The Lord desires our fellowship, for us to seek and worship Him wholeheartedly. This fact alone should inspire us to pursue a deep meaningful relationship with Him.

        Our heavenly Father desires the very best for us, and He wants each of us to realize that His plans for us will always be above and beyond all we ask or imagine. As we draw near to God, He will guide us, giving us strength and wisdom to handle our circumstances in a godly way. Therefore set your heart to know all of God; His works, His ways, and His will for your life. He promises in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” When you focus more on listing and accomplishing tasks than spending time with Jesus, your soul becomes thirsty. God never meant for you to serve Him while ignoring Him. When your calendar is full but your heart feels distant, you are living like Martha while your soul is hungry like Mary's. What if you and I paused more often to ask, “Is this feeding my spirit or just feeding my schedule?” That question has the power to reshape your days. In Psalm 27:4 David says, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord…” David in essence is saying that one thing is needed, the better portion, to sit at the feet of Jesus and hear His Word. Is that your one desire? The one thing that you seek?

        The Lord wants our service for Him to be effective and fruitful.

        Mary and Martha are often contrasted as though each believer must make a choice: be a worker like Martha or a worshipper like Mary. Certainly our personalities and gifts are different, but that doesn't mean that the Christian life is an either or situation. The key is to have the right priorities. Jesus first, then others, and then ourselves. We can take a warning from this account. Perhaps, in all our busyness, we have been ignoring the Lord. Martha's problem was not that she had too much work to do, but that she allowed her work to distract her and pull her apart from the one thing that was needed. If serving Christ makes us difficult to live with, then something is terribly wrong with our service.

        Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.” The Lord's response was gentle, but pointed. Maybe even a mild rebuke to Martha for her concern for so many things, so many trivial things. I believe Charles Wesley said it perfectly in his hymn “Lo! I Come with Joy”:

        Lo! I come with joy to do

        The Master's blessed will

        Him in outward works pursue

        And serve His pleasure still.

        Faithful to my Lord's commands

        I still would choose the better part

        Serve with careful Martha's hands

        And Mary's loving heart.

        The more we know and love Jesus the more effective our service will be. The closer we draw near to God, the more impact our lives will have. The more energetically we nurture our relationship with the Lord, the greater the positive mark we will leave behind. In John 15:4-5, Jesus says, "Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit for apart from me you can do nothing." If you keep your relationship right with Jesus, then regardless of your circumstances or whoever you encounter each day, He will continue to pour "rivers of living water" through you. For the saint, direction and guidance come from God Himself, not some measure of that saint's usefulness. It is the work that God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him. All that our Lord gives His attention to in a person's life is that person's relationship with His Son Jesus Christ. In Oswald Chambers bookUtmost for His Highest one devotional entitled “Usefulness or Relationship” he writes, “There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed.”

        Conclusion

        We can feel crunched for time to get everything done; studies, work, friendships, sports, family, and already crammed schedules. Sometimes we feel even more pressure to pack in our Bible reading, church, and prayer time. However, knowing who we are in Christ Jesus, finding our identity in Him and Him alone, and living out of God's unconditional and unchangeable love gives peace that transcends all pressure we place on ourselves to keep up or perform.

        How do we apply this to our lives and live out this principle of our intimacy with God–His highest priority for us–determines the impact of our lives. You and I must understand and realize that we were created for fellowship and intimacy with God. The difference your relationship with God makes in your life cannot be overstated. His highest priority for you is to be involved with Him in prayer, study of His Word, and praise and worship. Do you want to live a life that is fulfilling and significant? Do you want to make a difference in the world?  Then surrender yourself completely to Jesus Christ and ask Him to open your heart to His infinite love and mercy. It's only through your fellowship and communion with God that you can truly affect other people's lives in a way that lasts eternally. Your genuine intimacy with Jesus Christ will become evident in every area of your life and that will positively affect the influence that you have with every person you encounter. When you shut off the noise and prioritize Him, when you ask Him to handle your day, you will receive direction and peace. I encourage you to pause and with a deep breath choose that good part which will not be taken away from you. When faced with the option to be busy or to be present with God, choose His presence. When your phone pulls you one way and the Word calls you another, choose the truth. When performance threatens to define your self worth, rest in who you are in Christ Jesus and receive His assurance. Spend some time with the Lord in prayer asking Him to draw you into intimate communion with Himself and to transform your life so that you can affect the world for the sake of His kingdom.

Resources:

Charles Stanley Study Bible

The Wiersbe Study Bible 

The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: NT

Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers

Charles Wesley Hymn “Lo! I Come With Joy”