One Thing is Needful: Week One

It's 5:30 am and my alarm on my phone is going off. It's time to wake up before the kids and get in my morning devotion time. My brain is awake even before my eyes though and a million things are already running through it - mostly my long to do list for the day. Anybody relate? 

I could go ahead and get a jump start on it before the kids wake up. It's SO much easier to accomplish things without 12 little hands and feet right around you. Then I remember Christ's words to Martha in Luke 10:41-42 and know they ring true for me too -

"Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." 

Just like us, Martha and Mary both woke up with choices for their day too. Jesus was coming and there was much to be done! Martha set to work in the house and continued serving even after Jesus' arrival. I can imagine all too well the things going through her mind (because they've went through mine and it wasn't even JESUS coming to my house!) Is the house clean enough for Him? Is their enough food ready? Will He be comfortable here? 

Mary, on the other hand, chose simply to sit at His feet and listen.

Martha wasn't doing anything particularly bad, in fact, most would have considered her to be doing what was right! She wasn't just sitting around, she was serving! Yet, she was doing it all wrong. Jesus didn't want her perfect house or delicious food - He wanted her to put away the distractions of life and enjoy being in His presence.

Satan knows exactly how to draw us away from Christ. And for many of us (My own hand going up here) it's through daily distractions. He keeps us so busy and wrapped up in our own little lives that Christ gets completely squeezed out. We, like Martha, may not necessarily be doing anything considered "bad" but if it's keeping us from Christ then it's sin. I wonder how many times Jesus has shook his head at me and said "Anna, Anna, just let some things go and sit at my feet for awhile!"

So as I go through this week with my own agenda and long to-do lists. I'm going to remember two things:

1. "Only one thing is needful." Did you really get that earlier?  If not, just let it sink in a minute.  When your to do list is so long you don't even know where to start, or when you feel so overwhelmed by what lies ahead of you-THERE IS ONLY ONE THING NEEDFUL!  The ONLY thing that matters is whether or not we are in His presence today.
2. The choice is mine. I can choose the chaos and care of the world, like Martha; or I can be more like Mary and choose the good part. The part that will matter for an eternity. Don't check off everything on your list today, and miss the one thing that actually mattered!

I'd love to hear from you this week as we lay our own life at His feet and dig deeper into Mary and Martha!  Are you more of a Mary or Martha? 

Below is our Reading Plan and challenges for the week, along with a little summary of the SOAP method.  If you are just seeing this and would like a pdf file of the journal we are using for this study, just comment with your email!

 

 

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