Linda Buishas
“As they continued their journey, He entered a village where a woman, whose name was Martha, welcomed Him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat beside the Lord at his feet, listening to Him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to Him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.’ The Lord said to her in reply, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her.’”
Luke 10:38-42 struck a chord in me. I have been a Martha. Somedays, I still am. Yet, I’ve learned that while serving others, I am to balance the Martha and Mary in me. Life’s responsibilities and our service to others have their place; however, listening and learning from our Lord must come first. For how can we serve others without being nurtured, restored, and replenished by the Bread of life Himself?
As I picture Mary sitting calmly at our Lord’s feet and Martha, harried and distressed, I see two women, both of whom loved Jesus, and John 11:5 tells us that Jesus loved them, too. In His love for Martha, He acknowledged her distress, gently reminding her that He was the answer, if only she would slow down and listen. Like Martha, sometimes our stress or worries are caused by what we feel we must do, not realizing that the solution is in listening to Jesus. Martha had her troubles, perhaps greater than the duties of that day. Similarly, without God’s Word within us, how can we truly understand the causes or solutions to the troubles that we face?
Imagine being among those gathered that day, listening to our Lord! Yet, how fortunate we are that we have even more proof of who Jesus is! Each time we open our Bible, is so like Mary, sitting at our Lord’s feet, and even greater. All mankind has access to the fullness of Salvation, along with all the blessings, instructions, and promises He gave. We can listen as He speaks to our hearts, quenching our thirst for wisdom and knowledge while setting us on fire with a passion to share it. How can we resist God’s inspired word—the greatest source of knowledge of Him? It gives life and health and tells us of the power and authority that belong to us. It takes seconds to begin and is a lifelong journey worth taking. He’ll put people along our paths to help us, but it’s up to us to search for it ourselves with open hearts and minds.
I wish to be like Mary, imagining every time I open my Bible that I am sitting at my Lord’s feet, Him gazing down, speaking only to me, affirming with every word that I have chosen the better thing.