April 11 – Mary and Martha – Luke 10:38-42
Mary and Martha give us some insight to the well rounded Christian life. This is the same Mary and Martha that came to Jesus in John 11 when Jesus raised their brother, Lazarus, from the dead. In this account of Mary and Martha displays the responsibility of a Christian to learn, as a good disciple, and serve. Martha was troubled about all the household chores that needed to be done and became irritated with her sister Mary for just sitting and listening to Jesus speak. There are many areas where people serve in church to make a church service and the various ministries of the church successful. Serving is necessary to fulfill the functions of the church. Praise the Lord for folks who serve! When Martha comes to Jesus to complain about Mary, Jesus answered kindly and pointedly. Jesus does three things when speaking to Martha: 1) He calms her down. Jesus speaks Martha’s name twice. He was being personal and calming. 2) He commends her actions. Jesus commends Martha about all the tasks she has voluntarily taken upon herself. 3) He expresses the importance of discipleship. Jesus knew that busy Christians sometimes neglect the discipleship of the Word of God and learning from Jesus.
Let this little story encourage all of us to give attention and diligence to serving Christ, but also a good student as a disciple of Christ.
