Sitting or Serving?

Bible Reading: Luke 10:25-42

This time, when I was meditating and studying the incident of Martha and Mary from Luke's Gospel, I understood an important point.  Even though this appears to be a separate incident, it has to be studied and understood along with the story of the Good Samaritan.  The Lawyer who wanted to test Jesus asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus asked him what was said in the Law as he understood it.  So the Lawyer said it was loving the Lord with all your heart and loving the neighbor as oneself.   Jesus then asked him to do that and live.  But the Lawyer, wanting to justify himself, said, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10: 25-37).  The Lawyer did not ask how he could love God, but to answer that question, the Holy Spirit recorded Mary and Martha's incident just after the story of the Good Samaritan!

When we read about the incident of Martha and Mary, we somehow think only Martha was slogging to entertain Jesus, and Mary was simply sitting around.   But the Bible says in verse 39 that Martha's sister, Mary, ‘also’ sat at Jesus' feet and heard His Word.  The word 'also' means Mary must have done her part of the housework as fast as possible because she wanted to listen to Jesus.  While Mary found time to sit at Jesus' feet, Martha was distracted by many things.  Martha was distracted because she did not think it was essential to spend time with Jesus!  Jesus commended Mary and said, "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:42).  One thing Mary had was a real relationship with Jesus.  In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus said, 'Go and do,' but through the incident of Martha and Mary, Jesus is saying,' Come and sit.' So what is it, sitting or serving, which is important?  That is the question we have to answer today.  

We can understand the answer from John 15:1-11.  Jesus taught the importance of abiding in Him to bear fruit!  Jesus said, abide in Me, abide in My Words, and abide in My love.  Abiding in Him denotes our personal relationship with Him, the time we spend praying and meditating.  Abiding in His Words means living according to His Word, and abiding in His love means loving others like Jesus!  That's what we see in the Samaritan's story!  So what is important?  Both are needed, but the sequence is essential.   It is sitting before doing;  it is abiding before bearing fruit!  Religious activities and ministries are the devil's way of keeping us from spending time with the Lord.  

My friend, do not be deceived.  Only when we abide in Him will our fruits, that is, service, be acceptable to the Lord.  Otherwise, they are simply activities!  Never compromise on your quiet time and Bible reading.  May the Lord give us the wisdom to choose the good part that will not be taken from us!

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, help me to choose my activities wisely so that I will never compromise on my prayer time and Bible reading.  Amen.

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