Verse of the day: Luke 10:39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at
Jesus’ feet and heard His
word.
Being
busy in ministry and service does not always equal intimacy and worship. In
this chapter we have two examples of someone who was serving, but not
worshiping, and another who was worshiping, but was complained about because they
were not serving. Sadly, we all too often judge a person’s spirituality and
intimacy with Jesus by what we see externally. However, what we see externally
can be far from what is really in the heart. This is nothing new with man. In
the Old Testament, the Prophet Samuel, when looking for Israel’s next king
after King Saul, looked at David’s brother Eliab and would have chosen him, who
looked to him like king material. God told Samuel not to look at Eliab’s
appearance because He does not see man as man sees man, from outward appearance,
but the Lord sees the heart (1 Sam 16:6-7). There are many Christians who
equate how spiritual they are by how much they are doing around the church building
or how busy they are, doing things for others. May I remind us that there are
many unsaved people who are continually busy doing thing for others; yet, they
do not even know Jesus as their Savior. There have been many who have fallen
because outwardly they were “busy” for Christ, but inwardly they were very far
from Him. Their level of intimacy was almost nonexistent. In Luke 10 Martha had
welcomed Jesus into her home and was busy being hospitable; and there is
absolutely nothing wrong with being hospitable, as the Word of God encourages
us to be welcoming and hospitable to others (Rom 12:13; Heb 13:2; 1 Pt 4:9).
However, in this case the Scriptures tell us that Martha was “distracted with much
serving” (v. 40). So, even though she had welcomed Jesus into her home, she was
so cumbered with serving that in essence she neglected the most important
opportunity, which was a moment of intimacy with, and worship of, Jesus. In her
busyness she become annoyed and complained that Mary was not doing anything to
help her with all the tasks she was trying to accomplish. She then goes to
Jesus to try and get Him to “correct” Mary’s inconsiderate behavior of leaving
all the physical work to her. Jesus’ response is eye opening. He tells Martha
that Mary has chosen to do that one thing that was needful above all else that
was taking place at that moment, and Mary had made the right choice to sit at
His feet. Furthermore, this would not be taken from her (v. 42). The truth of
the matter is that our busyness in ministering does not make us any more
spiritual. Quite often, it puffs us up and we become proud, and critical of
others we feel are not “pulling their weight” in serving God (which really is
not for us to judge). Equally so, we can allow the busyness of work, and other
responsibilities hinder the times that we should be spending in prayer and
study of God’s Word. The Word of God warns against laziness (Pr 6:6; 9-11;
10:4). In this we must have balance, as there are times when we must put aside the
busyness and spend some quiet, intimate, time learning at the feet of Jesus. All
of us, as born again believers, have the same opportunity to have an intimate
relationship with Jesus. How intimate our relationship is will be determined by
how much of a priority Jesus is in our lives. Do we choose time with Him over
time sitting in front of the television, computer, or game console? Do we
prefer time with Jesus over time wasted with certain hobbies? This does not
mean that we cannot have hobbies, but certain hobbies become our gods. Do we
prefer the company of Jesus over the company of those that would lead us astray
by inviting us to do things will corrupt our life and take from our intimacy
with Christ? Sadly, we allow even those things that are not sinful to do to
take up much of our time, and robbing us of our duty to seek the Lord in
prayer, His Word, and worship. This is where what it not sinful to do becomes
sin to us. Martha, although she was doing what was right, in being hospitable,
allowed her hospitality to distract her and to cause her to murmur. We are told
in Scripture that we are to do all things without murmuring (Phil 2:14). Had
Martha served Jesus with a heart of worship she would have found pleasure in
serving and not allowed it to turn into a distraction and burden. One of my
favorite examples of intimacy with Jesus, found in Scripture, is how John is
referred to as “the disciple that Jesus loved” (Jn 13:23; 19:26; 21:7). When we
read the Gospel we see that John is the one who reclines and puts his head on
Jesus’ breast, an opportunity available to whoever was sitting on the other
side of Jesus. John is the disciple who is at the foot of the Cross when Jesus
is crucified. It was obvious that John took the steps to seek intimacy with
Jesus, and therefore, Jesus acknowledged John’s attempts in obtaining that
intimacy. When Mary chose to sit at Jesus feet, she chose to worshiping, and
learning, from Jesus, over the other things she could have chosen. As important
as hospitality and avoiding laziness are before God, spending time in His Word,
worshiping Him, and seeking intimacy with Him should be a priority over all
else. There will be moments when we will be given these opportunities, but we
must also strive to make these opportunities; even if it means going to bed a
little earlier so that we can rise a little earlier and give God to first part
of our day, spent in prayer, reading and studying His Word. Just like Mary,
when we make Jesus a priority, we may even be criticized by other Christians,
and people in general, as being fanatics. Why is it okay to be a fanatic when
it comes to cheering on our favorite sports team (yes, even amongst
Christians); yet, wrong when we are fanatics of the things of God? If we were
to honestly measure our intimacy with Jesus, based on how much of a priority
our time spent with Him is in our life, how would we do?
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