Too Busy

In Luke 10:38-42, we read of the time when Jesus was invited to the home of a woman named Martha.  In those days, preparing something to eat did not mean opening a box or can and tossing something into tthe microwave for a quick meal.  Their were no convection ovens or even a gas stove.  Everything had to be made from scratch, water had to be drawn from a well and even the oven had to be filled with wood and fire started before you could begin to cook.  There were no short cuts or easy fixes.

Martha was busy at it, running back and forth, doing thing and then another, trying desperately to get everything accomplished that needed to be done in order to have a meal on the table in a timely manner.  Her sister Mary, however, was sitting as Jesus feet, listening as he spoke, enjoying the company of her Lord and Savior.  Martha was heating up  faster than her oven as she thought about Mary relaxing with their guest instead of helping her prepare his meal.  When she reached her boiling poiint, she did what she probably never thought she would do, she chastized the Lord Jesus Christ.

Martha went into the room where Mary sat on the floor, looked past her and said to Jesus, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?  Tell her to help me" (v. 40).  Did you notice that Martha confronts Jesus for allowing this injustice and then orders him to correct it?  Can you imagine?  Just how hot was this woman to blow her lid like that?

Jesus doesn't strike her dead or anything.  He also doesn't react to her accusation or move at her command.  What Jesus does is to redirect.  He tells Martha that he knows how busy she has chosen to be, not how busy she had to be, which is what Martha was suggesting.  He tells her that she overly concerns herself with many undertaking that, while nice and useful, are not necessary at the moment. On the other hand, her sister, Mary, has chosen to do what is better - to sit as Jesus feet and be in communion with her Lord.  He then gets very pointed in saying, "it will not be taken from her."  In other words, "No Martha, you are the one failing to make the best use of your time, not Mary.  I will not tell her to leave my presence to attend to chores."

Do you find yourself too busy for the Lord?  Have you found yourself restlessly chasing after church work so hard that you find no time to rest in your Savior?  Does your life spin so fast that you are all wound up and cannot see your way clear to take time to commune with your God?  Are you so busy doing good things that you fail to get around to the better things?  Are you too busy?  Jus' Askn.