Luke 10:41-42, The Action in a Purposeful Life.

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.”

Last week I wrote about our purpose in life. Today lets look at how we put into practice.  As all know, knowing something is merely the first step. You still have to put action to the knowledge before knowing and understanding something is of any good.  Lets take a closer look at this passage. Jesus is visiting his good friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (whom we know He will later call back from the dead). Martha was being the good host. She was serving Jesus and ensuring that everything was to His liking. Not a spec of dust to be seen on those bookshelves! Not a crumb on the floor! The oven was cleaned and the pantry was arranged and in order.  All the books on the bookshelves (or scrolls on the scrollshelf?) were alphabetized by author and subject. The throw pillows were fluffed and comfy and the coffeepot was on with fresh baked goodies to go with it. The carpets were vacuumed and the easy chair for the Lord was prepared. All in all, Martha was trying to be the good hostess. Look at it from her eyes. Savory stews were on the stove and a roast was in the oven, but where was Mary? Martha probably looked everywhere. The dining table needed to be set with the fine china, not the regular dishes, and the silverware needed a good polishing. She couldn't do everything herself and her sister was supposed to help her!

Finally, Martha found her, as she was passing through the clean and tidy living room where her brother Lazarus was holding a conversation with Jesus. There she was! Look! Just sitting on the floor, knees on the floor and dirt covering her new dress for this special occasion!  What an outrage. At least she could be ladylike and sit demurely on a pillow, or better yet on a chair in the corner, anywhere that was not in the middle of the conversation. Just look, she has her chin in her upturned palms, elbows and knees touching like she was a scullery maid, and so close to the Master that she could probably smell his breath! Thats just going too far.  And with that Martha decided to ensure that Mary would not be bothering Jesus much longer, and besides there was work to be done to ensure His total comfort and welcome. Yet when she asked respectfully that Mary stop bothering the Lord, she was rebuked! Rebuked for being polite and wanting to serve God to the best of her abilities! Then, with Jesus words in her heart she saw something that she had been missing but her sister had found. The one thing of greatest value in the world was to be there, at Jesus feet! Jesus responded to Martha's desire to serve with scripture, a reference she would have memorized  as a child, Psalm 27:4 “One thing I ask of the Lord, This is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.”

This is where we find ourselves when we know our purpose in life and find our calling. This is where we end up when we discover what God really wants from us – our companionship. We can learn everything we ever need to know sitting there at His feet, able to talk with Him with no shame about who may hear or what they may think. It is a lesson that Mary knew and Martha, well Martha learned it well which we see in John 11, where Lazarus dies and Jesus calls him back to life. Martha learned and listened, and she let her faith speak instead of her desire to serve as she understood it, she was able to be so completely at peace that she was able to stop crying  and weeping and calmly get her tearful sister to go spend more time with Jesus so that she too could be calmed.

O that I could for ever dwell,
Delighted, at the Savior’s feet,
Behold the form I love so well,
And all His tender words repeat.
                           Elizabeth H. Reed, 1842.