Dave spoke tonight from Luke 10:30-42. In this passage, we see Jesus and His disciples stopping at Bethany, at the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. Martha seems to have been proactive in welcoming Jesus and looked after Him well. Jesus used this opportunity to continue teaching, with all apparently able to listen to Him. Mary certainly spent time listening, but she did not just listen. She adored Him; she was oblivious to everything else. Martha was distracted by all the other things she had to do and resented Mary’s devotion to Jesus. She tackled Jesus about this, asking Him, ‘Lord, don’t you care…?’
It’s always a mistake to assume that Jesus does not care when life does not go our way. It was easier for Martha to assume He didn’t care and to blame Mary than to look at her own agenda and adjust this accordingly. Jesus responds lovingly to her, but brings her attention firmly to the most important thing. Martha was missing out on being in God’s presence by all her preparation and busyness. Being in God’s presence is the greater thing; a pure heart of devotion and adoration that delights in God’s presence is what is truly important.
Being busy and overworked is often seen as a virtue, but so often we are like this because this is where we get our sense of worth and identity from. We must not serve God simply out of a sense of duty, but must understand and value the role of adoration. Sitting without serving is empty ,but so is serving without sitting. We need to sit at the feet of Jesus before we go out to serve. Adoration and devotion are the starting place of service.
