
How will we know God’s will…if we aren’t listening?
(Listen to my song “Slow Me Down” on YouTube by clicking HERE)
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Luke 10:38-40
As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary [who] sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burden with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.”
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We are all called to serve those in need.
That was an integral part of Jesus’ mission.
So this story cannot be about Jesus saying service isn’t that important.
But I do think Martha’s motivation is in question.
If her calling was to serve that day…then she would have done so without complaint.
But she was miffed that her sister Mary wasn’t helping.
Jesus replied to her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her” (Luke 10:41-42).
The “one thing” necessary is to follow your particular calling.
It appeared that Jesus deduced that Mary was being true to her calling…and that was to capitalize on this opportunity to listen to Jesus teach.
And for her to do so would have shown great courage…because women would not have usually been allowed to sit at the feet of the rabbi while he taught.
That privilege was reserved for men.
So Jesus was making quite an impactful point here.
I think this story also gives us a good model for having a balance of both listening and acting.
We need contemplative prayer to “hear” God’s call…so we can determine what action to take in carrying out that calling.
May we all have a healthy balance of contemplation and action.
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Listen to the song of the day “Slow Me Down” on the Mercy Reigns album by clicking HERE.
Stream and/or purchase my songs on Amazon Music by clicking HERE.
Remember…God loves you!