Luke 10:38-42 — Mary and Martha's Christmas Special!

READ THIS: Luke 10:38-42

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

First things first... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! We hope today can be a restful day for you and that you can take some time today to remember the greatest gift ever given to us: Jesus! Now, let's get into the story!

No matter who you relate to in this story, we have likely all been here before! Martha and Mary are two sisters that had the unique opportunity to host Jesus in their home... what an honor! Martha works hard to make sure everything is going to be perfect for Jesus; you can probably picture her running around the house, making sure everything looks perfect for Him. But... where's Mary? She's not doing any of those things! She's just hanging out, listening to Jesus and sitting at His feet while Martha is doing everything else.

Clearly, we know who is in the wrong here: Martha! Wait... what?!

I am sure that in verse 40, that's exactly how Martha felt. But rather than tell her that she was right or scold Mary for not helping, Jesus says "Mary has chosen what is better!" Jesus isn't mad at Martha for trying to make their home look amazing for Him, but He wants to make it very clear to her that there is nothing more important than being in His presence!
 
Does that mean that we should never care about trying hard to make our spaces and places look nice for Jesus? No way! But it is important that we learn from Martha's lesson: we must never get so distracted doing what we do for Jesus that we miss out on doing it with Jesus! That especially makes sense on Christmas Day... we can get so caught up in presents and other things that we miss the real point: being with Jesus and celebrating His life!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Have you ever felt like Martha? How about Mary?

2. When you are so distracted that you could be missing out on being with Jesus, what helps you spend time in His presence?

TRY THIS:

Think about your answer for number 2... take some time this Christmas Day to spend time in Jesus's presence!

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 25, 2023 at 9:53 PM

    Unfortunately I tend to be more of a Martha by nature, but am trying hard to spend more time with Jesus—the better choice!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. lDecember 26, 2023 at 7:14 AM

      I think a lot of people would say the same : ) you're not alone in that!!

      Delete

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