Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."
And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:38-42
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"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the..." Luke 8:5 I say that to say this. Today, I'm the sower. This word is the seed and the soil, well, that is your heart. Today its my job to throw the seed. It is yours to receive it and to bear fruit from it!
In the five verses above we see two women who love Jesus. Today I would like to take a quick look at Mary and not because I'm knocking Martha, because I'm not. When I look at Martha in this exchange I want to say to the world at large, "He who is with out sin, let him cast the first stone." After all, who among us has never been distracted or as the KJ puts it cumbered with much serving. If that person exists I guess he can grab a rock if he so chooses. Personally, as someone who works two jobs, runs the youth ministry, writes for two devotionals, is a foster mom to past and present kids, as well as friend and family obligations I get how easy it is to get distracted with what "needs doing." Martha loved Jesus just as much as Mary. She received Him into her house and what that means is she welcomed Him. Remember, that by welcoming Him in she also welcomed a minimum of twelve other guys. Can you honestly say that a minimum of thirteen men showing up at your house wouldn't cause you to worry about their needs, especially if Jesus was one of them. Wouldn't you want to make sure their every need was met and to make sure They had a good meal? Martha loved Him as well.
I would like to take a serious look at Mary because of what the Lord would like to say to us today. It says that Mary also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. Between this and the words that Jesus speaks about her you get the feeling that Mary is sitting at His feet glued to every word that He speaks. There is such a sense that she is sitting there, soaking up every little thing. Each word being absorbed with a hunger for more. It might be just me, but I think that is what good soil looks like?
After Jesus is all done explaining the parable of the sower He uses these words ..."Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him. Luke 8:18
If we want more of God at work in our lives we need to be like Mary and make a place at his feet! We need to be a sponge that soaks up revelation from His words every time we get near. She sat at His feet, hungry for every word that He spoke and we need to be the same way if we want to bear fruit for the kingdom.
Jesus said take heed 'how' you hear. Not 'what' but 'how' you hear. He said to take heed which means 'to look at' how you hear. So take a look. Are you a sponge absorbing everything you can each day as you draw near or do you have a different attitude. Are you like the wayside and the word disappears from your thoughts and actions as soon as it is done? Do you listen and grab a hold for a short period of time and then it fades away? Do you become so overcome by trials and circumstances that His word is lost under the pile or do you approach with a hungry heart? Are you a sponge soaking up every revelation or is it time to say, "Move over," to all the things that would prevent you from spending time at His feet?
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. He said, "Come, join Me, I've saved you a spot here at my feet!"
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