How Busy Are You?

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42 ESV). When the Lord walked this earth, He had no place to call home (cf. Matthew 8:20). But there was something He liked about a home in Bethany where a man named Lazarus lived with his two sisters, Mary and Martha. While we do not know the full story of the beginning of their relationship, we do know there was something very special about that place and those people. We know from our reading and other references that Mary and Martha were quite different from each other. Mary was more the quiet, contemplative type. Martha was more the take charge, assertive type. Mary was very content to let the ebb and flow of life take her along; Martha, on the other hand, wanted to control circumstances much more than her sister. This does not indicate a failure on Martha’s part. Even Jesus does not judge her, though he does instruct her in a better way. When Jesus came to their home at the time of our reading, Martha thought it would be a good idea to make Him a meal. She went into the kitchen and started working. Meanwhile, Mary thought it would be a great opportunity to sit at Jesus' feet and hear what He had to say. As Mary was sitting there, taking it all in, Martha was working frantically in the kitchen, growing more frustrated because Mary was not helping her. Finally, she could not contain herself any longer. She came out of the kitchen, and looking down at Mary and Jesus, said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." Jesus responded, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Sometimes we can do the same thing. We can get so anxious about so little. Sometimes we go into activity mode; rather than adoration we choose busyness. Do not misunderstand, there is a time to sit and there is a time to move. Jesus instructed his disciples to work “while there was yet day.” His indication was that we could not let the time be wasted in idleness and procrastination in the spreading of the gospel. It’s not a matter of how busy we are; it is how being busy is affecting our relationship with our Lord. Don’t measure your relationship by what you do. Measure it by who you know. Get to know him better each day. He is a friend beyond description!