Hey, no fair, Jesus!

While Jesus and his followers were traveling, Jesus went into a town. A woman named Martha let Jesus stay at her house.Martha had a sister named Mary, who was sitting at Jesus' feet and listening to him teach. But Martha was busy with all the work to be done. She went in and said, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me alone to do all the work? Tell her to help me."

But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things. Only one thing is important. Mary has chosen the better thing, and it will never be taken away from her."  Luke 10:38-42 (NCV)


I used to dislike this story in the Bible. It seemed so unfair that Martha was saddled with doing all the cooking and housework while her sister sat at the feet of Jesus, soaking up his every word. When Martha complained to Jesus, expecting him to chastise her sister for not helping, she was the one who got chastised!

I would have been screaming, "No fair!" At least that's what I did when I was a kid and had to help my Mom with the housework while my brothers got to go outside and play, so I'm pretty sure that would have been my first response.

Now, however, I identify more with Mary. I chose to sit at the feet of Jesus each morning, hanging on his every word. As I read my Bible, especially the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) I imagine what it would have been like for Jesus to live through each event. After all, they're historical stories for us, but for Jesus, they're his story. If he were sitting with me, reading them, he would say, "Oh, I remember that time!" or "You should have seen the look Peter gave me when I told him to cast his net on the other side of the boat after fishing all night and catching nothing!"

These stories are exciting and I'm with Mary - the housework can wait a little while. I want to sit with Jesus first!

Prayer:
Father, help us to see your word as an opportunity to sit at your feet and learn from you - to get to know you in a deeper, more personal way. Help us to put you first and as we do, would you please make the rest of the day...including housework go a little smoother?  Amen

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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)