I love that gal so much. She speaks up and says what I\u2019ve only wished I could say. I toil and am busy making sure everything is just right. I spend hours in the kitchen doing pre-event planning, cooking and baking and then the day of the event, I am the first to arrive and the last to go home. I give my guests the very best of me. But, deep in my heart, I\u2019m a little peeved at those who never say “Can I help?\u201d They\u2019re too busy chit-chatting to notice I\u2019m carrying the platters, offering drinks, manning the oven, and making sure everyone is having a good time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have scripture to back me up! Hebrews 13:2 tells us not to forget to \u201centertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it\u201d. And, Jesus discusses the hospitable behavior of those who will inherit the kingdom: \u201cFor I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me\u201d (Matthew 25:34-36). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dear Martha was hospitable to a fault. She opened her home to the Motley Crew of disciples AND the incomparable Man of God, Teacher, Miracle-Worker, Way-Maker, Water-Walking Jesus.
There isn’t much applause for Martha. Sure, she was peeved that her sister was just sitting at the feet of Jesus. I know that feeling. Guests are getting the scoop on all the current events of other guests’ lives. They\u2019re telling one exciting story after another, and I want to be in the room with them laughing and oohing and awing, but I\u2019m in the kitchen because if I don\u2019t perform, who will? I really think Martha got a bad rap for wanting her sister, Mary, to stop sitting at the feet of Jesus and start helping her because she wants to hear Jesus\u2019 stories, too. She whined to Jesus: \u201cTell her to help me!\u201d (Luke 10:40) But Jesus replies: \u201cYou are worried and upset about many things\u201d (Luke 10:41). Martha was weary from handling all her \u201cto do\u201d list. Jesus, the supreme guest of honor, deserved the highest quality of service and hospitality. But, no doubt, we Marthas need to learn from the lesson that Martha learned that day.
Our strength and power don\u2019t come from how much we can accomplish in one day. It flows out of our relationship with our Heavenly Father. As Martha hustled around to get it all done with her culinary best, Mary was soaking up the aroma of Jesus and His life-changing words. Don\u2019t forget Mary was once a \u201cred-light district\u201d gal and she had been forgiven. Who wants to eat when the \u201cBread of Life\u201d is in her midst? Martha didn\u2019t get the response she expected. “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it.” (Luke 10:41,42).
How often do we get all flustered by the have to\u2019s, must do\u2019s and are loaded up to the point of exhaustion? How often do we get so busy running around doing things FOR God, that we forget to spend time WITH God? Both of those women loved Christ immensely. Martha loved Him so much, she wanted to serve Him with excellence and Mary loved Him so much, she wanted to just be in his presence. Two ways of loving and showing their love. (Luke 10:38-42). I have such respect for both of those gals, because, so many times, I’m both of them!
I’m in Tulsa, today, helping to lead a retreat. Yes, I’ll be a Martha getting all the details taken care of, but I plan on being a Mary, offering praise and thanksgiving as I stay in-sync with my Lord Who is always speaking, giving wisdom and insight to us.
Both Martha AND Mary made the record book. Later on in scripture, we hear Martha make a profession of her faith: “Yes, Lord,\u2019 she replied, \u2018I believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God, Who is to come into the world.\u2019\u201d When Jesus said, \u201cI am,\u201d she affirmed, \u201cYou are.\u201d Her \u201cI believe\u201d confession is remarkable because she stated His title, His divine nature, and His calling. Martha\u2019s faith was as solid and unshakable as her sister Mary\u2019s. She served the food and also dished out the truth: She said, \u201cIt is for Your coming that the world has waited\u201d (John 11:27).
Lord, teach us about balance \u2013 willing to serve in word and deed and more than willing to sit at your feet and bask in Your holiness, majesty, and amazing love and grace. Amen. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I love that gal so much. She speaks up and says what I\u2019ve only wished I could say. I toil and am busy making sure everything is just right. I spend hours in the kitchen doing pre-event planning, cooking and baking and then the day of the event, I am the first to arrive and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12928,12929],"tags":[12923,19,5143,12925,507,3306,12924,11509,749,12922,1500,5603,5665,6806,542,12926,10453,12927,12940],"class_list":["post-9977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-martha","category-server","tag-baking","tag-bible","tag-busy","tag-can-i-help","tag-cooking","tag-disciples","tag-hebrews-132","tag-hungry","tag-jesus","tag-kitchen","tag-luke-1041","tag-magdala","tag-man-of-god","tag-martha","tag-mary","tag-matthew-2534-36","tag-thirsty","tag-toil","tag-worried-and-upset"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9977"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9990,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9977\/revisions\/9990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}