Mary and Martha
Perhaps you have heard the story of the sisters Mary and Martha before. If not, it can be found in Luke 10:38-41, “38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
This may seem like an interesting start in learning what it means to be a Christian woman, especially if you look at the woman described in Proverbs 31, but in today’s world there are a lot more Martha’s than Mary’s. Granted, right now with a large amount of the population confined to their homes we are forced to slow down some, but this isn’t always the case. I’m sure we have all been in the situation of trying to get a meal ready, clean the house, and going through a mental checklist of all the things that need to be done. Often times, we wake up with that list going through our heads and before we know it, its evening and we haven’t spent any time with the Lord. Being busy isn’t a bad thing, in fact the Bible is clear that we are not to be idle. Just look at Proverbs 6:9-11 for a result of what happens if we are idle, or 1 Timothy 5:13 which shows that when we are idle we become busybodies and gossips talking about things that do not need to be mentioned. We are not called to by idle in the Word of God, or in our relationship with Him, but to be active. The issue of being busy comes when we are busy for the sake of being busy.
Take Martha for example, she literally has the Lord in her house! And instead of learning from Him, she is focused on other things. I know this is an issue that I have struggled with in the past, wanting to spend time in the Word, but my mind is elsewhere. I’ll be reading through my Bible but my mind is more focused on what needs to be done today, what my daughter is doing, what we should have for dinner, well you get the picture. And I know in that moment that I am not truly with the Lord. I am treating this time as just another check mark to be done on my daily list. And just like Martha, when I am so busy with other things I become anxious. My mind wanders from the Scriptures and I begin to worry about making sure all doctor appointments are scheduled, if we have the groceries that we need, did we pay the bills, or did I miss something? In that moment, I am exactly like Martha, I have God’s word in front of me but I am not listening to what He is teaching me.
Christ, however, being the Good Counselor that He is, reminds Martha “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one”. This reminds me of Proverbs 12:25 “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” Christ comes alongside the anxious Martha, and tells her that only one thing is needed. Now this could be a reminder to her that a small meal is better than an elaborate one, but I believe that it is more important to consider that Christ meant that the only thing that is needed is Him. The logic for this argument can be seen if you look at Mary.
Mary knows that Christ and His disciples need to eat, she knows there is a lot to be done, but she is focused on what is important. Learning from the feet of our Lord. She is living out Psalm 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Mary knows that the living God is before her and is sitting still listening to Him. This aspect needs to be applied to our own time with God, push the thoughts of what needs to be done during the day away and focus solely on your time in the Word. By being still and listening to what the Holy Spirit has to say, will ensure that we can gain wisdom and discernment.
Look at the nature of the two sisters, one is anxious and fretful while the other is calm and still. By leaning on the Lord we can be like in Psalm 34:4 “I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” Or again in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Again look at the anxious Martha, she definitely was not seeing how God can provide rest for us. Mary on the other hand was relying on Him to teach her and was able to see how God’s yoke is easy and the burden light.
Christ wants us to spend time with Him, it’s how we get to know Him. And just like in our earthly relationships, if we do not give our undivided time, we do not get to know God as deeply as we might have. I encourage you all to remind yourselves of Mary when next you do your Bible study. And know that Christ will come along side you to remind you that He is all that is needed.
Seek the Truth and encourage one another,
Alex