mary-and-martha.com

Someone close to me recently had to pull back from all that she normally does in Church. She had to shift her focus as there were issues arising at home which required attention. Always serving, always helping, this was a new season of doing little except sitting at the feet of Jesus and allowing their relationship to minister to each other. Sounds pretty straight forward, but of course there was a struggle. Who knows that so much of what we do can easily define who we are? Whatever profession or career we have entered into, gives us a title, a position in this world, a spot where people can notice who we are and what we are good at. If we are parents, this further establishes who we are. The jobs and responsibilities we have gives us purpose and a reason for getting up in the morning. The beauty about Mary is that it reminds us we are never to get our sense of who we are by what we are doing. This is easier to write than achieve. Serving is important - don’t get me wrong. But at the end of the day, our relationship with Jesus is what we will be defined by when we stand before Him face to face. That was what Jesus meant by Mary has chosen the better part. If you had to stop what you were doing right now, your job, the role that defines you, who would you be? Would you have a mid life crisis? Or would you feel secure in your position and worth in Christ?

In trying to be focused and goal orientated people we tend to juggle a number of balls all at the same time. I watch women who I really admire try to be the best mum, wife, employee, boss, friend and the list goes on and on. Being focused and driven often means that we have a task in front of us that we are passionately working on. For myself, when I am in the “zone” I can forget everything that is around me or even everybody that is around me because I am so caught up in what I am trying to do. Sometimes my relationship with God can become like that too. I can be so focused and driven to share the gospel and equip God’s people that I forget the reason behind what I am doing. More importantly I forget whom I am doing this all for. When Luke records the story of Mary and Martha he tells us; “But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made” Luke 10:40 (NIV). This verse stands out to me because Jesus knew that preparations needed to be made just like He knows all the things we need to do as well. The caution to Martha and to us today is “Are we becoming distracted by our preparations?” This is a question that all of us need to ask ourselves from time to time. In trying to accomplish all that God has for us have we become distracted and forgotten our amazing God, the One who loves us for who we are rather than what we do.

I think sometimes we get so caught up in whether we’re Mary or Martha, that we forget one of the things that further tied these two sisters together and included them in the historical accounts of our Lord Jesus before he was crucified and then resurrected.

They were his friends, along with their brother Lazarus. Both Luke and John corroborate this in their accounts in the bible. Martha was reported as being the head of the household so the natural assumption is that Mary was a younger sister. The family positioning alone would have contributed to their different personalities, i.e. the older and younger siblings. It is common for an older sibling to take control and run things and for the younger one to help or find something else to do. It’s also common for younger siblings to seek out something different to do so they’re not seen to be like the older one. At least in modern times that seems to be the case.

It is important that whoever we are, whatever we’re doing, we must remember our position in Christ and that He is also our friend. He has an interest in who we are, what we do, where we go, and what makes us happy and what worries us. And that the people around us are the ones we’re meant to be serving and helping. Because, after all, He is also within us and we represent Christ through our daily lives - whether we’re a Mary or a Martha. KMT

Today I attended a business women’s breakfast in the city and the topic was Mary & Martha. I had to laugh - last breakfast it was the Proverbs 31 Woman and I have a blog on that topic too. I commented to the organiser and she said perhaps she better check my blogs before she plans the next breakfast!

The breakfast was broken into 4 sections and one of the ladies spoke about time management and referred to Mary and Martha. She suggested that Martha’s comment/question to Jesus about getting Mary to help related to the fact that she struggled with getting things done and wanting to be organised. Seeing Mary doing something that perhaps she’d like to be doing, but couldn’t (because she felt she couldn’t), frustrated her and made her annoyed. The speaker suggested that sometimes we can put importance on things that really aren’t that important, or if they were, they might not be that urgent.

We aren’t told in Luke whether Martha had a schedule she was keeping to, but chances are she could have dropped what she was doing and joined Mary at Jesus’ feet and the two of them could have worked together later to catch up on whatever needed to be done.

How often are we guilty of placing urgency or importance on something just because we want to be orderly and organised? At the breakfast we even laughed at the fact that we like to have our beds made before we go out - is this a female trait or something we have copied from our mothers and older generations? For me personally I feel it’s about keeping the marriage bedroom respected but it’s true, if the bed wasn’t made one day, it isn’t going to wreck my marriage.

Sometimes we tend to blow things completely out of proportion and what we really need to consider is how missing doing something in favour of spending time with the Lord is going to affect our walk with Jesus. KMT

Sometimes when I look at the week ahead I can get overwhelmed at all that needs to get done. My mind works a little like a radio and can jump from station to station. I mentally try to plan out my week to ensure that I have spent enough time fostering relationships with family and friends and that work and ministry responsibilities are all taken care of. However sometimes in all the planning I can find my self worrying. I worry about people or situations that I need to deal with during the coming week. I need to make a conscious effort to hand my concern and worry to God. The week ahead with all it’s highs and lows are safest in the hands of Jesus.

Martha, as the eldest would have felt the responsibility of running a home and taking care of her family. Jesus tries to teach Martha how to cope with her concerns and worry. In Luke 10:41-42 we read the following, “Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.” (NIV)

What is the “one thing” that is needed? It is what Mary chose, to come and sit at the feet of Jesus. We, as busy Christian women need to constantly bring our worry and concern to Jesus. We need to exchange our worry for rest and peace. This sentiment is echoed throughout the Bible, in Matthew 6:33 Jesus teaches his disciples about worry and tells them to seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness and everything else will be given to you as well. Here with Mary and Martha we see the practical outworking of that teaching.

Like Martha, we need to be reminded of this truth every once in a while. When we feel burdened or worried about what lies ahead we need to come back to Jesus. We need to bring it all back and offer it to Jesus and exchange it for the peace and rest that only He offers us.