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?

Most women can relate to Martha because generally women are doers. We roll up our sleeves, not afraid of getting our hands dirty and getting a job done. I love Martha and I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I can totally relate to her. This story is a powerful reminder of yes, the importance of sitting at the feet of Jesus and filling up, but also always keeping our eyes focused on Him and not comparing. If the Holy Spirit leads us to sit or to serve, then we shouldn’t fix our eyes on anything else. This was Martha’s problem. She took her eyes off what she was called to do and compared. How many of us when we are busy serving and giving out, we then cast our eyes on what others are not doing? Or what about when we are called to a season of doing less and spending time being ministered or ministering to God, that we look at those who are serving and what we should be doing? Drawing comparisons will always give you the short end of the stick. It will always leave you feeling you’re not good enough or doing enough. It will create bad attitudes rather than good ones. Martha was called to serve Jesus lunch and she chose to focus on Mary. Whatever the Holy Spirit leads you to do, always keep your eyes fixed on Him.