Only One Thing is Needed

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.[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

How easy it is during the holiday season to get caught up in the yearly festivities and lose sight of the birth of Christ and the uniting of family. When there is work to be done, when preparations are to be made, when others must be accommodated, the true purpose of not only Christmas but all events in life often fall along the wayside. I believe this is most certainly true for most all of us in our spiritual walk with Christ. Like Martha, God grants us tremendous opportunities to serve Him. These opportunities are intimate and exciting, with Christ Himself coming to meet us! Yet rather than fall at His feet and worship Him, we allow the mindset of task completion to overtake worship. When we are in this mindset we, like Martha, often blame others for our own lack of focus.

What can solve this? Jesus proclaims to Martha: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.” What an amazing, comforting verse! When our lives appear to tailspin into unmanageable tasks where the core mission of God’s kingdom is forgotten or pushed to a lower priority, Jesus repeatedly calls our name and tells us not to worry or be upset. Only one thing is needed: a heart of worship. Mary, too, served the Lord by falling at her feet and worshipping Him. Nowhere do the scriptures suggest that this was all she did. She may well have been prepared to cook and tend to His needs. But her attitude was to “seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he [would] give [her] everything [she needed]” (Matthew 6.33).

What are we seeking after? Life is busy, and God has charged us to set our hands to being about the business of His kingdom. But He has called us to worship Him. He has called us to pray, read and meditate on His Word, engage in fellowship with other believers, and reach out to the lost. These are not side tasks—they are the fundamental flow of all other things. Let us be like Mary and fall on our knees before Jesus. Only then will our hearts be charged and humbled enough to serve God faithfully and fully! Amen.