Loving And Serving

Luke 10:38-42

Martha invited Jesus to their home and He accepted the invitation. She invited Jesus as her guest and went straight into serving Him. She also expected her sister, Mary, to do the same. She expected Jesus to compel Mary to join her in preparing for their esteemed guest. She was worried about so many things, as would many of us if we were entertaining a special guest.

Many of us received Jesus as Lord then went straight into some form of ministry courtesy of some overzealous evangelist or a pastor with a lean staff. We spend so much time taking care of the ministry and serving God that we neglect the even more important relationship that God requires with us. He saves us first to be His children, then next to service, but He is in no hurry to push us into service.

Mary wasn’t the one who invited Jesus but she got the most out of His visit. She prioritized dwelling at His feet and learning from Him than she did serving Him. Jesus commended her for choosing the greater action. She received reassurance that the fellowship with Jesus wouldn’t be taken from her.

We can learn from Martha that we do need to make the step to invite Jesus into our lives but we can also learn from Mary that Jesus should transform from guest to friend, to someone who actually lives with us.

Finally, Jesus tells Martha to not be so troubled and worried by so many things but to focus on what’s important. That is our relationship with Him, we should serve Him out of love, not love Him out of service.