The living room intimacy Mary enjoyed with Jesus will never come out of the busyness of Martha’s kitchen. Busyness . . . breeds distraction. - Joanna Weaver(1)
One time a counterfeit bill made it into circulation and no one knew it was fake for quite some time. It was spent hundreds of times on various things. It was even used to serve the kingdom of God by being given to help the poor, and by supporting a missionary on the field. Eventually, someone caught the counterfeit bill and destroyed it because it was fake.
Like the counterfeit bill, our life can be in circulation going to and from. Our life may be used to serve the Lord in many ways, and be utilized to do many good things for His kingdom, but still be fake all at the same time. We can claim to know God, and try to prove it through our service, but if we don’t know Jesus Christ then we’ll one day be destroyed just like the counterfeit bill. Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23:
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me you who practice lawlessness.”
In our message this morning we’ll look at what it is to truly know and love God, and what grace says we must do as an expression of our love for Him. I must say from the very beginning of this message that our expression of love for the Lord is not necessarily found in our service for Him.
Love for God Must Precede Service
If a wife were to approach her husband and say, “Oh, I love you so much honey! Please use me in any way you want! Just command me to serve you, and I will do what you ask!” then the husband would think that his wife had gone off the deep end! If, however, she were to say, “I love you dear, and would like to spend some time with you this evening,” then that would be considered normal.
A relationship is built on love, and spending time with the one you love. It’s not proven through grueling service, or one-sided submission. It’s similar in our relationship with the Lord. Our love for God must precede our service for Him, and this is an important truth the Lord wants to instill within His people. We read here in Luke 10:38-42:
Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.
But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).
Luke used this account to reinforce a truth found earlier in the same chapter. Back in verses 25-28, we see how a lawyer attempted to test Jesus, and he asked Him, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk 10:25). Jesus then questioned him concerning what he had found written in the Law of Moses, and the lawyer replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (10:27).
There are two commandments mentioned in these verses, and they are 1.) to love God, and 2.) to love one’s neighbor. In looking at the Ten Commandments (cf. Ex 20:3-17) you’ll notice that the first four pertain to the worship of God, and the remaining six concern the relationship with our neighbor. So, really it all boils down to two commandments of loving God and neighbor.
God placed the first four Commandments about worshipping Him in first place for a reason, and that is because the Lord desires to be worshipped first above all else, for He is a jealous God (Ex 34:14). He actually wants our “worship” of Him to come before our “service” for Him. Therefore, our love for God needs to be our top priority in life. It needs to come first before anything else.
If we’ll learn to love the Lord with all our heart, and truly fall head-over-heals for Him, then all other requirements that He has stipulated will naturally follow (cf. Mt 22:37-40). Loving our neighbor [or doing any other form of service] will be an overflow of our love relationship with God. For instance, if we work a job and dislike the boss, then we probably won’t succeed at our job. However, if we truly appreciate the boss then we’ll have a much better chance of success.
The same principle holds true in kingdom service. Each and every believer is expected to work towards the Great Commission of teaching people about Jesus (cf. Mt 28:19-20), but if a believer feels that the Boss - or God - is a slave driver, then he or she will be unhappy with the task and be unsuccessful.
If we feel that God is forcing us to witness to others, then it will be unlikely that we’ll share the gospel. However, if we learn to truly love the Lord, then we’ll love to serve Him as well. So, our first priority must be to love God, and then our service in the kingdom will naturally follow.
Martha Was Distracted by Service
In our main text we see someone who had her priorities all mixed up. Martha complained that she was doing all the household chores, while her sister Mary was unwilling to help. When this scenario is viewed through today’s lens we might sympathize with Martha and say that she had a right to be upset, because Mary was just sitting around doing nothing. We might perceive that, instead of helping, Mary was seeking to be entertained in the living room.
When this account is viewed in light of today’s society we might be shocked to hear Jesus tell Martha that Mary had actually chosen the better thing to do. It’s difficult to understand, because we live in a society where one’s worth is determined by productivity.
One might ask, “Wouldn’t God rather have His people working really hard at serving Him instead of just sitting around?” Actually, He would rather have His followers to simply be still. In Psalm the Lord said, “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps 46:10). One’s first priority as a believer is to know God, and this happens by being still and spending time with Him.
We read that “Martha was distracted with much serving” (Lk 10:40). In other words, she placed service for God above loving God; and she placed service for Jesus above loving Jesus.
You Are Called to Love the Lord
When Jesus had earlier asked the lawyer what he found written in the law, he replied how one should love God and love one’s neighbor (Lk 10:27). This is called the “Law of Love,” and Jesus stated how “on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Mt 22:40). You see, we satisfy every single requirement of the law in simply loving God and others. The Lord calls us to love Him, and be loved in return. We do not have to earn His love through works.
We must realize that we’re called to be a lover of God before being a servant of God; and we’re called to be a lover of Jesus before being a servant of Jesus. Commentator Mike Bickle tells us this:
When Mary and Martha were in their little conflict, Martha was not wrong because she wanted to be a servant. However, her priorities were upside down because her natural self, her natural abilities and interests compelled her to be a worker before she was a lover. In fact, her work distracted her from being a lover [of Jesus].(2)
Mary provides an example of what it is to be a lover of Jesus Christ. We see Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet in a position that suggests an eagerness to learn, and she’s longing to hear Him teach.
We need to be like Mary in having a deep desire within our heart to hear God speak through His Word. Before doing any kind of work, whether it be our occupation or kingdom service, we should take some time to study the Bible and pray, so we can better know the heart of God and hear His instruction.
Beware of Serving to Please People
By allowing Mary to sit at His feet, and learn of Him and come to know Him, Jesus was stressing the importance of loving the Lord. In fact, we learn that loving Jesus is even more important than the expectations of others. How do we know this?
I. Howard Marshall, in his commentary on Luke, says that Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet is a picture of a student sitting at the feet of a Rabbi, and this position was reserved only for males.(3) Jesus, however, allowed Mary to learn at His feet, showing that loving Him goes far above human expectations.
So many times believers live by human expectations instead of by God’s standards. They work really hard at serving the Lord, not because of the overflow of their love relationship with Him, but because they fear that people will judge them and say they’re not doing enough for God, or that they’re just plain lazy.
Some believers may be working to please men by gaining higher status and political position among their peers by achieving seats of authority in religious conventions, or by seeking multiple college degrees. There are numerous ways in which a believer can attempt to please men instead of God; and we might need to ask ourselves this morning, “In what ways am I trying to please people?”
Beware of Serving to Please God
People are not the only ones that a believer might seek to impress. Sometimes a believer will work really hard for God’s recognition and approval. Joanna Weaver says, “We can get caught up in the . . . performance trap, feeling as though we must prove our love [to] God by doing great things for Him. So we rush past the intimacy of the living room to get busy for Him in the kitchen.”(4)
God already loves His children for who they are; however, for some strange reason there are believers who feel they must prove their worth to God. Charles Stanley says,
Many Christians grow stagnant in their faith because they expend tremendous energy trying to attain some lofty ideal of the “Christian experience.” They usually understand that grace is what saved them, but believe they must pay God back with good works . . . The real Christian experience requires only that we have faith in Jesus Christ and abide in Him, the true Vine.
You can’t do anything to make God love you more. Nor can you do anything to make Him love you less. This is a liberating truth! Your heavenly Father isn’t keeping score - we can’t pay Him back for His grace. In fact, no amount of good works can pay the debt of love we owe.(5)
Martha was obviously working for Jesus’ recognition instead of serving out of her love for Him. She asked Him, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” (Lk 10:40). She basically said, “Look at me, Jesus! Look at all that I’m doing for You! I am a much harder worker than my sister, so You should be proud of me!”
Let me tell you, believers do not have to prove themselves worthy to Jesus, for by His grace He sees them as the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor 5:21), and He loves them dearly.
Time of Reflection
One of the greatest needs of the human heart is to be loved; but we do not have to work to be loved. If we’re working for the recognition of people then we need to stop the rat race, because it will only wear us out emotionally and spiritually. And if we’re working to earn God’s approval then we have a faith problem in which we doubt His grace and unconditional love for us.
This morning I encourage you to relax and enjoy living in God’s love. He loves you for who you are, and because of that you can rest assured in His grace. Once you learn to rest in Him then you’ll have more time to get to know the wonderful God who loves you. As you spend time with Him then you’ll grow to love Him more and more; and out of your love for God, you will indeed serve the Lord with gladness (Ps 100:2). Service will no longer be work, but it will instead be a labor of love.
If you’re searching for a genuine and unconditional love, one in which you do not have to prove your worth; then look no further than Jesus. In Matthew 11:28-30, He said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
NOTES
(1) Joanna Weaver, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World (Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press, 2002), p. 9.
(2) Mike Bickle, The Pleasures of Loving God (Lake Mary, FL: Creation House, 2000), p. 49.
(3) I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978), p. 452.
(4) Weaver, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, p. 9.
(5) Charles Stanley, “Escaping the Performance Trap,” In Touch Ministries Online: www.intouch.org/site/c.cnKBIPNuEoG/b.5307575/k.46BC/Escaping_the_Performance_Trap.htm (Accessed January 27, 2010).
