Churches are filled with believers who have a go-go-go attitude. Serve in this way! Go on that mission! Teach a class! Lead worship! These are good things, but the activity of doing can overshadow the power of being and get us off track.
Today’s passage offers a perfect picture of this “doing versus being” dichotomy, as it reveals Martha and Mary’s unique responses to Jesus’ visit. We immediately see that Martha is the doer. She runs around, cleaning, making the meal, and operating in a whirlwind of activity. Mary, however, is more concerned with simply being—she wants to be near Jesus and absorb every moment of His presence.
Neither sister was necessarily wrong in her response. Martha is often looked down upon in this scene, but the truth is, her heart was in the right place in wanting to meet the needs of her Master. She was going about the ministry, while Mary was engaged in worship.
In His rebuke of Martha in Luke 10:41-42, Jesus never said Martha was wrong for what she was doing; He said only that her busyness wasn’t the best thing at the moment. This interaction is a message for the church, as the Lord calls us first to honor Him. Only then—once we are fueled by His Spirit and an intimate encounter with God—are we best prepared to go about the activity of ministry.
The church needs both Marthas and Marys. Thinking about whom you identify with more, ask, Do I keep an intimate relationship with God in the midst of my activity? Do I allow private worship to fuel my ministry fire?
Our perceptions of the Lord have a huge impact on how we hear His voice speak to us in His Word and through His Spirit. There are many voices calling for our attention—we need to be able to distinguish Christ’s words from all the others because He alone always speaks truth. If we listen to other voices, we’ll be led astray, and this includes our own internal voice when it perceives God inaccurately.
This is why it’s so important to make sure our image of God fits the one given in Scripture. The Bible teaches us that ...
He is righteous. The Lord would never lead us to do anything sinful because doing so would contradict His nature and His Word.
He is gracious. We don’t have to worry that God is waiting to condemn or punish us. Having been saved by Christ, we live continually in His grace and kindness.
He is faithful. He always does what He says and will never abandon those who belong to Him.
He is our heavenly Father. He loves and cares for us, both by providing for our needs and by disciplining us so that we grow in godliness.
He is our Judge. All who are in Christ, however, have passed out of judgment into eternal life and need never fear condemnation (Rom. 8:1).
If our conception of the Lord is inaccurate, we may think He’s harsh, stingy, or angry with us. But there is an even greater danger if we think that God wants to satisfy all our selfish and worldly desires—that is the voice of a stranger; we should reject it and flee to our Good Shepherd.
We might think our sins affect no one but ourselves, yet that’s not true. What we do impacts others whether we know it or not. And Jesus used strong terms to warn us: He said causing another person to sin would leave us worse off than if we were “drowned in the depth of the sea” with a millstone around our neck (Matt. 18:6).
People observe what we do, and who of us is without sin? We may try to excuse ourselves by claiming that most of our sin is trivial—hardly a blip on the screen—so such small indiscretions will not be noticed by others, let alone be damaging to them. But let’s consider how some of our common sins can lead others down the wrong path.
• Our lack of forgiveness towards someone could cause a close friend or family member to take up our cause and feel resentful too.
• Anger that flares up in us at regular intervals may be copied by our children, who then think they, too, have the right to express their tempers whenever they want.
• Lies we tell to get out of tight situations send a message—especially to children—that truth is optional, depending on the circumstances.
• Conversations rife with gossip can severely damage the reputations of other people and cause listeners to sin by spreading the rumors.
The Lord’s warning should be taken seriously. We should consider the consequences of our actions and attitudes and then turn toward Jesus in confession and repentance. When we ask, He will give us the grace and strength to walk in His ways and influence others toward righteousness.
Yesterday we saw how Scripture answers the question Who is Jesus? Once we have that information, we must decide what to do with it. Some may choose to ignore what they have learned, but the truth is that we have only two options. We can either accept or reject Jesus as Savior; avoidance is actually a form of rejection.
So how, exactly, do we accept Jesus in our life? The answer is that we must believe in Him. This means placing confidence in the person of Christ, knowing that His death on Calvary’s cross paid for all our sin. This is not merely an intellectual understanding; rather, it is a total surrender to Jesus as the only one who can forgive our sins, thereby bridging the gap between us and the Father. And when we receive Jesus as Savior, we immediately become children of the King.
Believers must also follow Christ’s ways. Allowing Jesus to live out His lordship through our life means yielding our will and desires to His. In addition, Christians are to worship Him. We should be so overwhelmed by His presence that our heart and lips overflow with adoration.
One last thing, of course, is that we’re to share the truth with others. Just before ascending into heaven, Jesus commanded His followers to spread the good news of salvation to the entire world (Matt. 28:19-20).
We are blessed to have ready access to God’s Word. Once we know who He is, we must decide whether we’ll wholeheartedly yield our life to Him. He longs to have an intimate, personal relationship with you. Will you say yes to His offer?
Have you ever wondered if you can trust what the Bible says? Although Scripture testifies to its own inspiration, there are also other evidences that affirm that the book we hold in our hands is the true and accurate Word of God.
Jesus believed Scripture.Our Savior affirmed the validity of the Old Testament by quoting passages as He taught. He used Isaiah’s prophecies and the Pentateuch to poke holes in the Pharisees’ false piety (Mark 7:6-13). And after His resurrection, He explained the things concerning Himself that had been written by Moses and the prophets (Luke 24:25-27). Finally, because Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit would teach the disciples and remind them of His words, He insured the accuracy of the New Testament as well (John 14:26).
Scripture is inexhaustible. Like a well that never runs dry, the Bible offers a fresh taste of living water each time we open it. People who have dedicated their lives to studying this amazing book admit they have only skimmed its surface. Personally, I can’t count the times that a passage I knew by heart suddenly yielded new insights.
Scripture is indestructible. Over the years, various governments and leaders have tried in vain to destroy the Bible, or at least restrict access to it. And yet this polarizing—and well-loved—book keeps circulating and winning hearts for Christ.
The Bible truly is the most amazing book ever written because it comes directly from God. Not only does it accurately predict the future; it also has the power to save sinners and transform them into saints.
