At the Feet of Jesus

At the Home of Martha and Mary
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’” – Luke 10:38-42

Life is often busy and chaotic. There are always things to do, people to see, obligations to uphold. We wake up, work, come home, maybe enjoy something we love with people we love, go to sleep, and repeat it all the next day. There’s always something to do. A box on your to do list to check off. Life just goes on and on and on and on. Busyness plagues our day-to-day lives and that busyness often infects our relationship with Jesus. When reading the story of Jesus visiting Martha and Mary’s home in Luke 10, it is easy to find ourselves in the same position as Martha.

Martha had Jesus, God made flesh, in her home. Imagine the pressure she must have felt that the Lord was in her home. How does the home look? What food needs to be prepared? What needs to be done around the house? It was a lot. But the one thing she missed, that her sister understood, was that those things hale in comparison of being with Jesus. Of course, things needed to still be prepared but Jesus was RIGHT THERE! Not only was Jesus right there but she was hanging onto every word He said, taking in and listening to the words being spoken. It’s a struggle we see throughout the Bible starting in Genesis in the garden with stories of life verses knowledge.

How often do we find ourselves like Martha? So much to do, but little time to be with Jesus when he is RIGHT THERE. We know of Jesus, but how often do we truly sit down and allow ourselves to sit at the feet of Jesus and hang onto every word He speaks to us? We live in a culture that rewards people who do and do and do, we forget that the most important thing we can do is to stop and sit at the feet of Jesus. We might sit and read the words of Jesus, but when was the last time we really sat and meditated on those words? When was the last time we had the mentality of Mary instead of Martha?

Mary knew the most important thing in that moment was the life-giving words and experiences Jesus could give. Her mentality was the exact opposite of her sister’s. Her mentality was to stop and focus on God being with her in that moment instead of the daily to-do. Ultimately, that is what we are called to prioritize. We need to prioritize stopping and sitting at the feet of Jesus, even in the hustle of the expectations of the day.

My challenge for you is this: stop, pray and listen to what God is saying to you this week. Take time to really allow yourself to sit at the feet of Jesus taking a break from the hustle of the day and taking time to reflect with Jesus.

 – Preston Haggerty, 2022-23 Intern, Black Diamond Camp