Deep Thoughts....not by Jack Handy


I was out of town this weekend and had the chance to visit the church where I grew up—boy, did the Lord know just what I needed…in Sunday school the pastor taught out of the book of Luke; most of you are probably familiar with the story of Mary and Martha. I know I’ve heard it preached probably a hundred times, but Sunday morning something hit just right…

How often do we end up like Martha, overwhelmed with everything on our plates? Usually we hear this passage taught in the context of Christian service (working in the nursery, singing in the choir, teaching a Sunday School class, you name it)—but think about life in general. Grades to be entered. A spouse to love. Kids to feed. Laundry to fold. The car to wash. Bills to pay. The grass to cut. Phone calls to make. Just thinking about everything that has to be done in the time between my morning alarm and my evening shower sometimes is just too much to handle. I feel like Martha when Jesus described her as “careful and troubled about many things.” As I look back over my day and wonder just how I survived it, it hits me. Where did the Lord fit into my day? Did he? I didn’t pray when I got up. I didn’t set the alarm to make time to read scripture before I got ready for work. I sure don’t feel like it by the time I finally make it to my bedroom in the evening. I’m on extended day, so forget about any extra time between classes or during a light planning period. I focus so much on my work that I forget about worship. We were created to worship the Creator; the disciples were chosen to love first, and then serve. I get it backwards so many times and too often I’m satisfied naming the name of Christ when, in reality, I haven’t even spoken to Him—besides a quick blessing before I eat my cereal on the way to work or a quick prayer to thank Him for the near-miss on the interstate—in who knows when? Martha missed it, but Jesus reminds her that Mary knows what this relationship is all about—“One thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part…” Don’t get so caught up in the overwhelming parts of life that we forget about the Omnipotent One who longs to spend time with us and settle our spirits before a hectic day.

“41And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”