Choosing the Good Part – Luke 10:38-42

38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was encumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Yesterday was an especially stormy day here in central Florida. Saturday evening was stormy as well, so much so that one of the homes in our community had the roof ripped off its shed by powerful winds. I was nervous about driving to church on Sunday morning. Why? Because church is about an hour away.

I was reminded of the story of Martha and Mary serving dinner to Jesus and his entourage at their house. Martha was doing what she did best – playing the hostess. She was making sure everyone was comfortable and well fed. Mary, on the other hand, was sitting at Jesus feet. She was listening intently to every word he spoke.

Martha’s protesting of her sister’s behavior was met by a very keen response from Jesus. He told her that Mary had chosen the “good part” and that he wasn’t about to take it away from her.

None of this is to say that Martha was wrong in trying to be the best hostess she could be. But it does suggest that, at least for that moment, it was more important to her sister to spend time hearing what her Lord had to say. The same thing applied to my wife and I yesterday morning.

We could have stayed home and watched the church service online. Doing so would have been far more comfortable than enduring the rough weather we encountered on the ride home. But it is important to us to be with fellow believers in church.

The lesson of Luke chapter 10 is pretty simple: we will do whatever is most important to us whenever multiple options present themselves. How important is your faith to you? When push comes to shove, is following the LORD most important? It should be.

Posted on: April 12, 2021