One Thing Is Necessary

Martha opened her home to Jesus. Let's start there, because she often gets a bad reputation. She welcomed Him. She was generous and hospitable. She saw that there were people to feed and she went to work. If you have ever hosted Thanksgiving, you know Martha is not lazy. She is the reason anybody eats.

But Luke tells us something about her heart. “Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made.” Distracted. Pulled away. Meanwhile her sister Mary “sat at the Lord's feet listening to His message.” Same house. Same guest. Two very different mornings.

Then the pressure boils over. Martha comes to Jesus and says, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!” Do You not care? That is what anxiety does. It turns a busy kitchen into a question about whether God loves you. When we are stretched thin, we start accusing. The people around us look lazy. God looks distant. And we start giving Jesus instructions.

Listen to how Jesus answers. “Martha, Martha.” He says her name twice. That is not a scolding. That is tenderness. It is the voice of a friend who sees what is going on underneath. He tells her she is “worried and upset about many things.” He does not tell her the dishes do not matter. He tells her she is worried. He goes past the to-do list to the heart.

Then He says the line I need to hear more than almost any other. “But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.” The meal would be eaten and forgotten by Thursday. The words Mary heard at the feet of Jesus would stay with her forever. Jesus is not against work. He worked with His hands for years. He is against anything that crowds Him out.

Let me bring this to your kitchen table. Your morning probably looks more like Martha's than Mary's. The kids need lunches. The inbox is full before you are out of bed. The car needs gas, and somebody needs a ride. None of that is sinful. But if you only ever serve and never sit, you will start to resent the people you serve and the God you serve them for. You will run on fumes and call it faithfulness.

Here is the grace in this story. Jesus is the one who came to serve. He did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. Mary sat at His feet because He had something to give her. The Christian life does not begin with what you do for Jesus. It begins with receiving what Jesus has done for you. Everything else flows out of that.

So choose the good portion today. It may be ten minutes before the house wakes up. It may be a Bible on the passenger seat in the parking lot before you walk into work. It will not happen by accident. Distraction is the default. Sitting at His feet is a choice. Mary chose it. You can too. And what you receive there will not be taken away from you. The world can take your schedule, your energy, and your plans. It cannot take the Word Jesus speaks to your heart when you sit still long enough to hear it.