Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Neglecting What Matters

Luke 10:38-42 (KJV) Says "Now it came to pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to Him, and said, Lord dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, 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."

In the above scripture Martha invites Jesus, and His many followers into her house. Martha  immediately concerns herself with preparing something for her guests to eat, and she becomes overwhelmed with the task. Martha's sister, Mary, who was also present,  chose to sit at Jesus' feet and hear  His word. Martha became so overwhelmed with the food preparation,  that she approached Jesus, and basically said don't you care that I am doing all the work while my sister, Mary sits at your feet listening to your word? Make her help me. Wow, Martha must have been extremely overwhelmed to approach Jesus in this manner. Note that Jesus responds to her in a way that is meant to be calming by repeating Martha's name twice before pointing out to her that she is troubled about many things, but only one thing at that moment was needful, and that her sister had  chosen that thing which would never be taken away from her.

This scripture shows how powerful human nature can be. For Martha to allow herself to become so agitated that she decides to tell Jesus what to do speaks volumes. Sometimes we get so caught up in things that are not of great importance that like Martha, we allow ourselves to miss out on the things that are. Once we reach an aggravated state it seems we get tunnel vision, and thereby can only focus on the task at hand. While in this state, we fail to entertain the idea that there may be a simpler way to complete our task minus all the upset and drama.  For instance, had Martha been thinking she would have known that with Jesus present none of them would have gone hungry. He fed multitudes with a few fish, and I am certain He would have seen to it that everyone in that house had something to eat.

While Martha was running around in a dither, her sister Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet listening to His word. Mary recognized the opportunity they had been given for the blessing that it was, and she took advantage of it. When you have the opportunity to do something that is of importance, do you miss out  in order to handle a task that is of lesser importance? Have you passed on opportunities to spend time praying and reading God's word?  Have you passed on opportunities to  make great memories with your children, spouse, parents, siblings, or friends in order to clean the house, do laundry, mow the lawn, or some other task that could have waited. When we fore go opportunities to spend time with those we love, we miss out on precious moments. Time does not stand still nor does it repeat itself, when a moment comes and goes, it is gone forever.

When an opportunity to spend time with a loved one comes your way, put the mop down, turn off the mower, cut off the stove, stop whatever unimportant task you're doing, and like Mary take advantage of it. Recognize these moments for the blessings that they are. Recognize them as a chance to make precious memories that last a lifetime. Don't miss out.

If you have a prayer request and would like me to pray for you, leave me a message and I will be more than happy to do so. May God bless you.

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