Day 244: Choosing the Better Part

Luke 10: 38-42
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. 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!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Known as the “Swedish Nightingale,” Jenny Lind was a world-famous opera singer who took the world by storm in the early 1800s. Her fans were shocked when at age 29, at the height of her career, she decided to retire. When Miss Lind was asked why she would abandon the world stage, she laid a finger on her Bible and replied, “When every day it made me think less of this, what could I do?”

Well into this year’s Summer break, I had the realization that, despite enjoying its slower pace, a time spent on, gardening, sewing and other hobbies, I was still too focused on “tasks.” This is a natural bent for me, and most times it serves me very well. I do accomplish a lot in a day! But, if I am not careful, I can easily get wrapped up in the doing of tasks and not on the being with God. As Jenny Lind experienced, every task-filled day has the potential of making me think less about God’s Word. I needed to replace my divided, distracted heart with a devoted one. The solution was to put aside some of the things that were edging out valuable time that should be spent devoted to reading His Word and praying. In addition, I also felt God prompting me to do more studying, writing and preparing to lead a new Bible study in the Fall. Thus, the decision was made to embark on a “reset” by taking a sabbatical the month of August.

Our verses today tell of an encounter Martha had with Jesus. The setting was Bethany, in the family home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, who frequently hosted Jesus and the disciples in their home. It is assumed that Lazarus inherited the house after his father’s passing and took his sisters in. The unmarried state of the two women was considered a disgrace although some say Martha was the widow of Simon the Leper. Nevertheless, they were considered “disadvantaged” persons in society. In addition, in first century Judaism, only men were supposed to learn from rabbis, so the fact that Jesus acknowledged Mary’s desire to learn from Him by choosing the “better part” was revolutionary. He was opening the door to women the privilege that had long been denied them.

Though my vision for August wasn’t entirely clear at the outset, it proved to be time well-spent as I came away with a renewed commitment to God’s calling, and how He has equipped me to minister through writing devotions and leading women in Bible study. More importantly, I realized that this time spent with God needed to be consistent. The account of Mary and Martha opening their home to Jesus has been a reminder once again of how I often fail to “chose the better part.” If I don’t make my time spent with the Lord in prayer and reading of His Word a priority every day—not just for one month a year—I really can’t say He is first in my life.

God isn’t calling you and me to Do more to have more of Him, rather, He is actually calling us to DO less. He is calling us to BE with Him. I want to be like Mary—and Jenny Lind—choosing the better part, which will not be taken away from me. I trust you want that, too.

Father in heaven, how we love You and your Word! We praise You for the truths we learn when we dig deeper, precepts that teach and equip us in this life. Thank you for the example of Mary who “chose the better part.” May we be inspired by her example to make it a priority to Be with You, sitting at your feet each day, plumbing the riches in your Word. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

-painting by Walter Rane