This post is a brief follow-up to last weekend’s message: “Choosing Better”. Remember the lesson we learned from Mary? She sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.
Mary chose to go counter-cultural, sitting where she wasn’t “supposed” to be. Mary chose to ignore her to-do list. Mary chose to put Jesus first, not last. Mary chose to seize the moment and sit at the feet of her Rabbi, Teacher and Lord…and listen to Him.
Thank you Mary for showing us the better thing to do…the only thing that is necessary! Thank you for the reminder that while there may be other important things to do in this world, they will only serve as distractions unless we first sit at the Lord’s feet and listen to Him.
I really like the New Living Translation version of this story, as it gives a slight variation on how to read the passage.
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 (NLT)
The NIV translates the last verse as “Mary has chosen what is better”, while the NLT translates it “Mary has discovered it”. I like that way of considering the story. In one sense, we are to choose God, but in another sense we merely need to discover Him. Perhaps combining the two terms would be useful.
We must to choose to discover God.
That is my prayer for myself and all of you. That we would choose to discover God. That we would choose the one thing that is necessary…Him.
