"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."
Dear 'Martha',
The guests are arriving... 20 minutes early... Does that drive you as crazy as it does me? When the invite states 11am, that's what I meant, because I simply need every minute to prepare up until that point. I get that so honestly from my Grandma Mary. When I was younger, we would sit at the end of her driveway on Christmas morning and wait for the time to get closer to 10am before we pulled in. My daddy is early for everything, always. It's funny how traditions carry on. Now my mama makes him wait a little longer before he comes to my house because he knows I'll get in a tizzy. When my guests arrive early, and sometimes even on time, I'll quickly answer the door, welcome them in, show them where to 'wait' on me, and then back to the kitchen I go to finish the last minute tasks before the party. Meanwhile, Tyler hangs out with the guests, carries on conversations, while I shoot evil looks at him from behind the casserole dish.
As I read this scripture, I relate so much to Martha. Girl, if Jesus was coming to my house, you bet I would be running around making sure everything was perfectly just so. No wonder Martha was 'worried and troubled'.
So 'Marthas', let's take a look at Mary. You know, the one like my husband, happily entertaining the guests and enjoying the party. Mary is at Jesus' feet. She is, according to Martha, leaving her sister to serve alone. But who is really 'serving' here? When Jesus responds to her, He says, "Mary has chosen the good part." Jesus was not concerned if everything was in perfect order when He comes to their house. As our guests would probably feel the same with ours. We worry ourselves over the distractions of this world. Mary pauses to praise Jesus. She is the only who is truly serving here. And the same goes for Tyler. We didn't invite our guest over to just sit alone...
I've spent much time relating this to my own guests coming to our house, but in everyday life, I am convicted. While I love a good party, I don't throw them often. However, I am always distracted by much serving. If you are a mama, you know exactly what I mean. The work never ends. Someone is always needing something from us. And when there are a few minutes of quiet time, that's usually spent cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and all the other things that trouble us. Jesus tends to be left sitting in the living room, alone, or with someone else praising Him, while we are stirring around, lost. I know for me it's that way. My Bible waits for me. And Jesus waits for that hunger to strike, where I stop what I'm doing and fill myself with His word.
This is the story of Martha that we all know. We can relate to her in a lot of ways. But, I love reading about Martha, because despite her cumbersomeness (KJV), she fiercely and fearfully loves Jesus. When her brother, Lazarus, died, she met Jesus before He even made it to Bethany. I see her being that busy sister and Mary being the quiet one, much like how my girls are. She knew Jesus could have healed him. She tells Jesus that if He would have been there when they called for Him, Lazarus would not have died. But Jesus shows up, big time, in His timing, like He always does. I can see Him looking Martha right in the eyes, just as He did when He was at her house, and saying, "I am the resurrection. Do you believe this?" Martha not only answers yes, but she takes time to proclaim everything He is to us. "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is come into the world."
She pauses, in the midst of her heartache and during a time that she could have been really mad at Jesus for not showing up sooner and she praises His name.
Marthas, let's not leave Jesus over on the couch while we trouble ourselves with other things. He's waiting for you and for me. When you finally realize He's there, run to His comforting arms. Crawl up in His lap and praise Him. Next time He comes you could be in the deepest pit of your life, like Martha was. But because you took the time to know what it feels like to be loved and comforted, you can run to Him with confidence of His power. You can say, "Yes, Lord, I believe You are the Christ that was sent to this world to save me."
So don't you dare feel guilty about being a "Martha" in this world. She loved and trusted in her Jesus some thing fierce. We do need to slow our pace and not be so distracted by the things of this world. We need to put our names in the place of Martha's when Jesus says, "Martha, Martha you are worried and troubled by many things." We need to continue to serve Jesus, and our families. But we also need to know when it's time to press pause and praise. We need to feel that hunger for Jesus and the Word. We need to understand that we have to be filled up by Jesus before we can pour out to others. Marthas, we need to fiercely know Him, trust Him, and love Him. Just like Martha did.
Sincerely,
'Martha'
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