The Best Part
Luke 10:38-42
Desperate Households Series
I think we would all agree that the role of Moms today has greatly changed. Expectations have changed....focus has changed and for some Moms today, fulfilling this role can be difficult at best. Many more appliances and conveniences ave been placed in the home with the goal of making household duties easier. Growing up we had no microwave oven, ice-maker or dishwasher, however in spite of all of these changes that supposedly add to our convenience, women today are than at any other point in history. Certainly expectations have changed as well. Even though she make work 40 hours or more, she is still expected to be the primary housekeeper. In addition to keeping house, she must cook, wash the clothes and be the primary care giver to the children. And for may Moms this schedule goes from sun up to sundown.
Then is recent years we have seen the entrance of the “super Mom.” This is the woman who tries to have it all....a good education, a great career and to be a great Mom as well. But regardless of time schedules, day timers, organizers...there are still only 24 hours in a day. With everything that is expected of Moms many women find it necessary to cut corners somewhere. The problem is that it usually affects us on a spiritual level because we simply fail to make time for God. And if Moms focus only on material things and neglect the spiritual then they will never feel fulfilled...they won’t be happy. And if Momma’s not happy, ain’t nobody happy.
I realize that the passage I read today is not about Moms. The scripture never mentions that Mary or Martha are Mothers. Tradition sees Martha as the older sister and the one who took care of her brother and sister. They lived in Bethany just outside Jerusalem. Jesus deeply cared about both of these women; they were close friends along with their brother Lazarus. We are told that Martha received Jesus into her house.
At this time Jesus was beginning to establish a following. No doubt Martha wanted everything to be just right in her home when this great preacher came to visit. So Martha was busy working, while Mary, her sister was listening to the words that Jesus taught. Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen the best part. This passage shows us three differences between Martha and Mary but you will find that this text applies to all Moms, all women as well as to all of our men today. See where you fit in.
1. There was a difference in their focus. Webster defines focus as the point where reflected rays of light come together..at the center. When we talk about focus we are talking about what is at the center of your life. The scripture tells us that Martha was concerned about serving. That is what she was focused on.
Jesus was the honored guest so it was customary to prepare a meal for the guest. And I’m sure that Martha put everything she had into it. She was busy serving her master.
Now let’s be clear....Martha’s service was not a bad thing. But Martha had allowed it to become the center of her attention. Much serving as the scripture says. All her energy, all her attention...al her focus was on serving. Think about this for a moment....you have the Lord of the universe in your home and you’re too busy to hear what He has to say. It still happens...we sit in church every Sunday in the presence of the Lord..our thoughts are 1,000 miles away. ..we’re too busy to hear what God has to say.
There are Moms out there who work hard on the job, trying to build a future for their children, working to build a good home but they never give thought to the spiritual needs of their children. This passage is telling us...be careful...be careful that you do not put all your energy into things that are temporary..that will not last. Mary was focused on Jesus; she chose the better part.
2. There was a difference in their fellowship.
Let’s look now at Mary. She was seated at the feet of Jesus. The Greek words here mean that she literally sat down right in front of the feet of Jesus. She wanted to get as close to him as she possibly could. She didn’t want to miss a word that He had to say.
Let me remind you this morning that you are as close to Jesus as you want to be. You determine your own level of experience with Jesus. You have all of God that you want. The question for all of us is how much do you want? In this passage it all comes down to priorities and for Mary her priority was spending time with Jesus.
Now let’s go back to Martha. We are not told that she was in a specific location. We are just told that she was cumbered about with much serving. She was probably here in one place for a while and then she would move to another place within the house. What i want yopu to notice is the word “cumbered.” This is a word that we don’t use in modern language. One version translates this as “but Martha was distracted by her many tasks. Martha was letting her work draw her away from Jesus. Remember she was the one who received Christ into her home, she was the one who welcomed Him but now other things have become more important and she is drawn away from the one she needs to hear the most.
How many times do we do this very thing? We commit our lives to Christ...we welcome Him in and then we let other things consume us and draw our attention away from Him?
Hebrews 2:1 So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. Now what do we have to do to drift away? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It is that easy. The currents of life, the cares of life, the temptations of life will naturally cause you to drift away.
Recently I read the story of a man who had just bought a boat and kept it in the harbor off the coast. A hurricane warning went into effect, the storm was brewing just off the coast and was about to hit land. He didn’t know what to do. He had made a sizable investment in this boat and he didn’t want to lose it so he called a friends and asked for some advice. His friend who had experience in boating in Florida told him this.....don’t attempt to tie the boat to the dock or anything on land. If you do it will be torn to pieces. Here is what you need to do. Your only hope is to anchor deep and the boat will ride out the storm. That’s good advice for us too...if you don’t want to drift away, if you want your life to count, if you want to leave your children and grandchildren an example of what it means to be a believer then anchor deep in your fellowship with Christ. If you don’t you will start to drift.
Notice also here there was a Difference in their Feelings.
Look at what Jesus said about Martha in verse 41. Reading this in several different versions we read that she was troubled....she was anxious....she was worried and upset...she was worried and distracted. We get the picture. What I want you to see here are Martha’s feelings. Upset, worried, anxious,,,,,when you don’t focus on Christ this is often the end result. Martha had the ONE who could speak and the storm would stop....who is this man who that even the wind and the waves listen to him? This is the ONE who healed the blind, made the lame walk...cats out demons yet Martha was worried. Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? Until we realize we do the same thing.
She was troubled and I can’t help but wonder how many Moms and Dads too are filled with fear and worry all because they don’t focus on the PEACEMAKER. It is a very scary world that we live in. We send our children to school and we wonder what will happen while they are there. School shootings, drugs, alcohol, the occult..all of these things have found their way into our schools today. Listen you can’t deal with that if you don’t have the Prince of Peace at the center of your life.
Look at Mary. The scripture doesn’t tell us what she was feeling. It just tells us that she was sitting at the feet of the Master. Her focus was in the right place. And if I had to guess what she was feeling was peace.
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,
whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Look here what the Lord said to Martha. He said one thing is needful. Did you catch that? He says one things is necessary.
Let me close by asking you a question...what would you do if today Jesus said He was coming to your house to visit ? Some of you are probably already thinking...vacuum, load the dishwasher, dust, bake a pie, or maybe you’re thinking I would get out the family Bible so that it will be in plain view or there may even be some things you might want to hide.
But it may be that the best thing that we could do would simply be to sit down and enjoy His company. That’s really want He wants from us. He said, one thing....only 1 thing is necessary. You may keep an immaculate house....I hope you do...but do you find time for God? You may be moving up the ladder of success in the business world, I hope you are but we also have to think about what we may be missing. One thing is necessary! Luke 10:42 Jesus told Martha.... only one thing is needed. And that is our relationship with Christ. Martha chose what was best because she was making plans for eternity.
Have you made yours?
