Head Scratcher — Eutychus - Thursday
Today’s Verse
Luke 10:41-42a
But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. (ESV)
Worry can rob us of rest. And so does busyness. (If at this point you’re considering leaving today’s devo out of fear of a scolding for how busy you are, let me set your mind at ease!) The truth is, we all have things, most of them necessary, that demand our time. In fact, the things that demand most of our time, like taking care of ourselves, our families, and working to make a living, are very good things. The challenges and associated lack of rest occur when there is an imbalance of work and worship. For the purposes of today’s devo, we’ll use work as a way to describe all of the necessary and proper activities we have to address each day. And we’ll define worship as any time we can spend intentionally with Jesus.
There’s possibly no better story to rely on and learn from on this topic than that of Mary and Martha. We know the story of Jesus visiting the home of these two sisters, who welcomed him in different ways. Martha chose to be hospitable by preparing a meal and making sure things were in order. Mary, on the other hand, chose to sit at Jesus' feet and spend time with him. Honestly, Martha seems to get a bad rap in this story. It’s not that her intentions to create an inviting space for Jesus were out of line; it’s that she was so overly consumed with her tasks that she was missing the chance to be with Jesus. Further, she complained about not having Mary’s help. The learning for us is that the way we approach the necessary things we do will be informed by how much time we’ve spent with Jesus. Serving our families, serving our employers, and serving others in need effectively and joyfully requires that we first sit at the feet of Jesus periodically to be filled again. Without worship, our tanks empty quickly. As Charles Wesley wrote in an old hymn, we need to serve with Martha’s hands and love with Mary’s heart. We must be both workers and worshippers.
REFLECTION
Work is more automatic than worship. Is there a balance in your life between the two? Raise the priority of worship and plan on attending our next Summer Worship Night. Bringing work and worship into balance will bring you rest.
