Like Mary

Luke 10:38-40 "Jesus entered a village and a woman by the name of Martha welcomed Him and made Him feel quite at home.  Her sister, Mary, sat before Jesus hanging on to every word He said. Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen.  Later, she interrupted saying, 'Jesus, don't you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to help me.'  Jesus said, 'Martha, you're fussing too much and getting worked up over nothing.  One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it  -  it's the main course, and it won't be taken from her.'"

Greetings in the name of our miracle-working Jesus!

I wanted to revisit this passage from Tuesday because as I was reading and re-reading it, I realized I am more like Martha than I want to admit.  Notice how she welcomed Jesus and made Him feel quite at home.  Well, Jesus knows He is welcome my my house.  One of the first things I do in the morning is play praise and worship music as I putt putter around doing all the household stuff.   I sing at the top of my off-pitch voice and thank Him for letting me wake up and blessing me with family, friends, and Hershey Pie.   

But sometimes "I fuss too much and get worked up over nothing."  I feel scattered brained and like the 10 million things on my to-do list will never get done.  Sometimes when I am praying my mind will start to wander, and I think about the clothes in the dryer that needs folding or the paperwork I have on my desk.  And a couple of times I have even cut my prayer time short because someone is calling me on the phone. Frown.

Our dear Lord helps us puts life in perspective, "Only one this is essential, it's the Main  Course..."

Our Lord is the most important part of our day, and the Bible is filled with Christ's encouraging, powerful, life-changing words that we can all hang onto!  There's wisdom in sitting in at His feet and feasting on the Main Course.  The Bible says "it's to our advantage" to do so.   Christ knows we have other responsibilities; He's just reminding us that in the middle of our busy lives, He wants us to visit with Him.  He wants us to put our priorities in order.  He wants us to unwind and bask in His presence.  He wants to bless us and fill us with peace. 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, like Mary, we choose You today and every day.  We are blessed when we spend time with You and let You fill us with Your goodness.  We want to hang onto Your every Word, and the Word of the day is MAIN COURSE.  You are our priority, our first love, our King, our Savior, and our Guide.  Keep us and those we care about safe and tethered to You.  In Your name we pray, AMEN.    

Choose What is Better

Sunday night Jorge and I grabbed a bite at a local Cuban restaurant.  There were so many families everywhere, but one in particular really made an impression on me.  Included in this family were a grandma and grandpa, two younger couples, and five kids all around three or four years old.  What caught my eye was that each of those rugrats had a phone they were playing with.  All the adults were at one end of the table, laughing up a storm, and all the kids were at the other end hyper focused on their devices and quiet as quiet can be.

It made me think about my own kids when they were little.  Back then we did not have any electronics to keep them entertained.  NO! We the parents had to actually interact with them.  You know, talk to them, play with them, bounce them on our knees, and color the menu with them…

Don’t misunderstand me.  I am not hating on the parents who give their three-year-olds iPhones. Maybe if I would have had the opportunity, I would have done the same.  But there is something to be said for enjoying your kids while you can, and Jesus makes a similar point:

Luke 10:38-42 “Now as they were traveling along, Jesus went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and kept listening to what He was saying. But Martha was worrying about all the things she had to do, so she came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, You do care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself, don’t You? Then tell her to help me.’ The Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. But there’s only one thing you need. Mary has chosen what is better, and it is not to be taken away from her.’”

Martha rightfully figured that interacting with the living breathing Christ was somehow a better choice than washing dishes with Mary.  Dishes do eventually need washing, and Jesus is not saying to abandon all earthly chores.  But He is saying that there are other priorities to be considered – there are better choices. 

Mary could have easily enjoyed Christ’s company and done the dusting later; she missed out because it’s not as though Christ was going to live there forever.  Those parents in the restaurant will realize one day too that time FLIES when the kids are little, and every moment is precious.  What are they missing out on? But don’t we all tend to be the same? We have a million other things to do that are keeping us from what really matters, and this applies spiritually, physically, emotionally, and relationally.   

Let’s heed the words of Christ and choose what is better in our day-to-day living.  When we spend our valuable time in prayer, with family, or with friends, it can never be “taken away from us.”

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us get our priorities in order.  Time goes by so quickly.  We will never regret spending our time with You and those we love, but we might regret missed opportunities because we were busy doing things that could wait. Show us the way! In Jesus’ name, AMEN~