Are You a Mary or a Martha? (Part 3)
We've been studying Jesus' visit with Mary and Martha the past couple days, and now we are back to the critical question we posed initially. How would you act if Jesus Christ paid you a visit as He did Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42? Would you be able to sit and listen to Him, like Mary, and learn all you could from Him? Or, would you be busy with trivial things like Martha--things that really don't matter?

Although Jesus will not knock on your door in a physical form today, He will indeed come for a visit. Many fail to realize that the Lord is always with us! Is this not what He affirmed in Matthew 28:20 before ascending into heaven? "And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Does it bother you to think about Jesus being with us always? It shouldn't, unless you, like Martha, are allowing various "things" to distract you from the Lord's will. Martha had set the wrong priorities which resulted in a lot of unnecessary pressure. What about you? Are your priorities in line with the Lord? It is my hope that the church and righteous living are your fundamental priorities because that's what Christ wants first in your life (Matt. 6:33). Your foremost priority cannot be your job, your hobby, or even your family. It must be the Lord. We must live to please Him, not men (Gal. 1:10)--not even ourselves!

Friends, Mary chose that which was good because she chose the part that would last. Sitting at Jesus' feet and learning from Him would change her forever. The same can be said today about studying God's word, praying, worshipping with the saints, doing good works, etc. These are positive, life-changing events. Martha allowed herself to be unnecessarily troubled by many things--things that would not matter in the big picture. She was wasting her precious time on the trivial when she could have been learning from Jesus Christ, the Son of God! If we are not careful, we can easily fall into the same trap.

So, are you a Mary or a Martha? The text doesn't indicate whether or not Martha learned the lesson Jesus was trying to teach her. I hope she did, and I pray you will learn the lesson also, if you tend to be more like Martha than Mary. Don't be burdened with the things of this world. They don't last! They don't bring happiness--and they don't please the Lord either! Busy yourself with those things which will have a lasting impact for today and for eternity to come. Put the Lord first--not things--and you won't go wrong!