Martha and Mary

As Jesus and his disciples continued on the way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me."

But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about, Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her."

In this short story, are you a Martha or a Mary? To begin with I think we all have a little bit of Martha in us. I know I do. At one time I was Martha all the way. Now I am still a little like Martha, but trying to become so much more like Mary. This morning after I prayed and read a couple of devotions I knew God had lead me to write about Martha and Mary today. More than likely because I couldn't decide what to do first. The Martha in me wanted to go outside and do a little yardwork while it was still cool. Then do all the work in preparation for tomorrow as we feed the community. However, this is how it went. I made myself breakfast and read the Bible while eating. Now the blog and everything else will be done later. Prioritize my friends!

Martha quickly became overwhelmed about the work needing to be done. Let's not be too harsh here. She just invited Jesus into her home and thought it would be a good deed to prepare a big meal for Him. After all, back in the day wasn't that the role of women to serve the men? There was nothing wrong with serving Jesus, or wanting help from her sister. Just like us, she didn't have her priorities in order.

Mary, on the other hand, knew what it was like to be a committed disciple. As she sat at the feet of Jesus listening attentively to every word He had to say. Her highest priority was to learn from the teaching of Jesus. Her discipleship was a commendable choice that would not be taken away from her.