One Thing

 

All things considered, current events put me in mind of the sisters Mary and Martha.

Their account can be found in Luke 10:38-42.

In it, Jesus went to a village where Martha welcomed Him as a guest.

Each sister responded to Jesus in a completely different way.

Mary sat at the Lord's feet and listened to everything He said.

Martha worked frantically away; consumed by all the preparations.

In no time, Martha grew upset with Mary for not helping.

Martha certainly let her frustration be known.

She complained directly to Jesus about how Mary had abandoned her to do all the work.

Moreover, she absolutely demanded that Jesus do something about her.

Jesus put things in their proper perspective.

Luke10:41-42 (NET) - But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her."

I stated at the outset that today's world reminds me of Mary and Martha.

We are practically bombarded with bad news.

There is news of the ongoing pandemic.

There is news of more unrest in the streets.

There is news of continuing injustice.

The list goes on and on.

Meanwhile, those we expect to solve these problems disagree.

They even bicker with each other.

At times it seems as if they prefer bickering to problem solving.

Just like Martha, it is easy for us to be "worried and troubled about many things,"

But Jesus reminds us that only "one thing is needed."

It is simply left to us to choose.

Like Martha, we can choose to be distracted and frustrated by everything going on around us.

Or, like Mary, we can choose to sit at the Lord's feet and listen to everything He says.

This is the best choice and  one that can never be taken from us.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, September 18, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, September 25, 2020