Martha Martha

“Martha, Martha”

Luke 10:38ff records a visit Jesus made to Bethany, the home of three of his most
intimate friends, Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha.
Now as they were traveling along, He entered a certain village; and a
woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a
sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord's word,
seated at His feet. But Martha was distracted with all her
preparations; and she came up to Him, and said, "Lord, do You not care
that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to
help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you
are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things
are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part,
which shall not be taken away from her."
Martha was apparently a diligent homemaker. Did Jesus mean to imply that
what she was doing was a bad thing? Aren’t older women supposed to teach the
younger women to be “workers at home” (Titus 2:5)? Didn’t Paul urge younger
women to “marry, bear children, guide [manage] the house” (1Tim 5:14)?
Consider the valuable lesson in this story. The point that Jesus was making is a
very important one for us to understand and apply to our daily lives. It concerns
priorities.
We are expected to develop the ability to distinguish between good and evil (Heb
5:14). It is also important, though perhaps more difficult, for us to learn to
distinguish between good and better.
Mary recognized that a unique opportunity presented itself to her – to sit at the
feet of the Son of God and learn from Him. In Jesus’ words, she chose the “good
[better] part”. She recognized the priority of spiritual over material, of eternal
over temporal.
Many things which are not evil per se constantly make demands upon our time
and attention that would be better directed to “better” things. It is admittedly not
always easy to know how to make such judgments. We should pray for the
wisdom to prevent good and wholesome things from distracting us from seeking
FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt 6:33).
- Leonard White

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Eating “Humble Pie”

On a foggy night at sea, the ship’s Captain saw the barely discernable lights of
what was sure to be a ship dead ahead. Quickly he discharged his signalman to
relay the following message, “Move your course 20 degrees to the South.”
A reply was flashed back, “You move your course 20 degrees to the North.”
The Captain, a little irritated by that reply, sent another message, “I am a
Captain, move your course 20 degrees South.”
Another reply came back with seemingly indifferent calmness, “I am a Seaman
First Class, you move your course 20 degrees North.”
Now the Captain became indignant and ordered the following message, “This is

the last time I am telling you, move your course 20 degrees South, because I am a
battleship!”
The final reply to that came quickly, “This will be the last time I can tell you,
move your course 20 degrees North, because I am a lighthouse!”
Have you ever been eagerly engaged in some project when someone called it into
question, and you were so sure that you were right that you would not even listen
to their constructive criticism? You stubbornly forged ahead, only to realize later
with embarrassment that you did not have all the facts and would have been wise
to heed the counsel offered by the person who was better informed.
Hopefully such experiences will make us more humble and less closed-minded in
the future.

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No Fear . . . No Hope

Robert Owen, the world-renowned infidel, was once visiting Alexander Campbell
at Bethany. Late one evening they strolled out to the family burying ground.
“There is one advantage I have over the Christian,” said Owen, as they stood
beside the grave of a recently departed member of the Campbell family. “I am
not afraid to die. Most Christians have fear in death; but if some few items of my
business were settled, I should be perfectly willing to die at any moment.”
“Well,” answered Campbell, “You say you have no fear in death – do you have any
hope in death?”
There was a solemn pause before the infidel replied, “None at all, none at all.”
“Then,” rejoined Campbell, pointing to an ox standing nearby, “You are on a level
with that brute. He has fed until he is satisfied and stands in the shade, whisking
off the flies. He has no fear in death, neither has he any hope.”

______
All It Takes . . .

A man once approached French diplomat Tallyrand to tell him that he had
developed a new religion which he considered to be a great improvement over
Christianity. He wanted to know what he could do to motivate people to embrace
this new religion.
Tallyrand dryly replied, “To ensure the success for your new religion, all you need
to do is have yourself crucified and then rise from the dead on the third day!”

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