Thursday, May 16, 2013

By: Gwen Hitt

Choosing the BETTER Thing

Luke 10:41-42   "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

For the last few weeks, I have been busy, busy, busy! I have definitely been residing in a Martha World.

What do I mean by that? Let me begin with today's scriptures to explain. What would you do if Jesus unexpectedly came by for a visit? Would you drop everything and sit at His feet as Mary chose to do OR would you run around attempting to straighten out the house and prepare a meal as Martha did?

Mary's choice irked her sister to the point that Martha approached Jesus in Luke 10:40 with the following complaint "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

Have you ever been there? So many things to do AND so little time to get it all done..... With the DEMANDS of life, it is often difficult to slow down enough to find the time to spend with Jesus. Residing in a Martha World can become very stressful - it can steal your joy and peace!

Will all of the THINGS that we do everyday really matter in an eternal perspective? Jesus' answer to Martha was that Mary chose what is BETTER. Are we choosing the BETTER things in our lives? Are we spending time in prayer, reading our Bibles, building memories with our families, reaching out to the hurting....???

You may be thinking that your Martha World does not allow for any of those activities --- You barely have time for what needs to be done. Mark 1:35 tells us what Jesus - in all of His busyness - did: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed."

My challenge to all of us is to do what Jesus did - Begin your day with prayer. Just as God was able to multiply a few loaves of bread and fish to feed the multitudes, I believe that He is more than capable to multiply our time!

Dear Lord, As I purpose to spend time with You each day, I pray that You will multiply my time to get all of the THINGS in my life done so that I will exude your peace rather than stress and anxiety. I pray that those I encounter will see the heart of Mary in me rather than the concerned mind of Martha.

I also thank You, my Jesus, for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and that God raised You from the grave so that I can have eternal life.